Cindy Wasser
February 5, 2016
New Green Advocacy Tool Hot Off the Presses: NGBS Green Annual Report
Home Innovation Research Labs recently debuted its inaugural green certification program annual report, “NGBS Green: A Better Place to Call Home.” The report provides a new advocacy quill in the quiver of builders and verifiers around the country hoping to promote more choice in the marketplace in regions where green building is required by code.
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Cindy Wasser
May 1, 2015
An NGBS Retrospective: 50,000 NGBS Green Certified Homes
With the 50,000th NGBS Green Certified home in our very recent past, it seemed like a perfect time to look back on what a game-changer the NGBS rating system has been to the home building industry, and celebrate the achievements of our dedicated NGBS Green Partners who have sought third-party green home certification.
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Cindy Wasser
October 8, 2014
Local Green Home Advocacy Efforts Lead to Jobs, Market Development
Frustrated by lack of local knowledge about or interest in green home building? See how one local jurisdiction in Washington State used the National Green Building Standard as a catalyst for positive change in job creation and green home market development.
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Cindy Wasser
September 5, 2014
Making Significant Strides on Green Home Appraisals
Too often, the value of the green features in high-performing homes have been either underestimated or overlooked during the appraisal and lending processes. This limits the ability of builders to properly differentiate themselves in the marketplace, and the ability of homeowners to get the full value of their homes in appraisals and resale pricing. But the times they are a changin’! Over the last year, important strides have been made to ensure that appraisers and lenders are equipped to recognize and value green home features.
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Cindy Wasser
July 23, 2014
NGBS Not Just for “Typical” Buyers or Renters
While we know there's increasing awareness and demand for green homes among homebuyers and renters, it's interesting to note these "typical" consumers are not the only drivers for residential green certification. Builders and developers are frequently (and pleasantly) surprised by the wide variety of projects, other than traditional home construction, to which they can apply the National Green Building Standard. Find out a little more about some unique, but practical, applications for NGBS Green Certification, such as student housing and even some hotels.
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Cindy Wasser
May 6, 2014
Increasing Green Home Interoperability
Across the real estate transaction process, various users are obtaining and utilizing green home data for their own purposes, but that information is not necessarily translatable to other users. There's a significant lack of interoperability in the system, where everyone is speaking on different frequencies, and often even in different "languages" about green. This undermines the ability of anyone to fully and effectively communicate about green home features and have them recognized and valued throughout the process. Last week's unveiling of NAR's Green MLS Implementation Guide v1.0 is a huge step toward rectifying this situation.
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Cindy Wasser
April 15, 2014
Reasons to Select NGBS Land Development Certification over LEED ND
While LEED® for Neighborhood Development™ (LEED-ND) continues to hold greater name recognition, a lesser-known certification option of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) is the Green Land Development certification. This green rating system covers the design, planning, and development of residential and mixed-use green communities. Since 2009, Home Innovation Research Labs has certified 22 land developments, representing over 1,500 lots, with nine communities currently in progress, representing 21,382 lots!
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Cindy Wasser
March 13, 2014
Why Use Green Products
If you are a builder or developer who is just getting started with green home construction, look no further than Home Innovation Research Labs' NGBS Green Certified product mark on product packaging and marketing materials to identify and source green building products. NGBS Green Certified products are pre-approved by Home Innovation to contribute toward a home or building meeting specific NGBS practices, and use of certified products offers labor-savings and streamlined verification to builders/developers.
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Cindy Wasser
February 27, 2014
Survey Says…Consumers Are Looking for Green Homes
New consumer research by NAHB and GuildQuality, a leading provider of customer satisfaction surveying for the residential building industry, offers unique insight into how green homeowners feel about their homes – particularly regarding overall satisfaction and promotion.
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Cindy Wasser
January 9, 2014
5 Green Home Building Trends from 2013
2013 was a year marked with change and innovation in the world of green. Find out about some of the leading trends we saw in our green home certification program.
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