January 29, 2009 – The National Green Building Standard^TM for all residential construction work including single-family homes, apartments and condos, land development and remodeling and renovation was approved today by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The approval signals a new era for the nation’s builders, remodelers and developers and also provides an extra measure of reassurance for home buyers, said Joe Robson, a home builder in Tulsa, Okla., and Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

“The National Green Building Standard is now the first and only green building rating system approved by ANSI, making it the benchmark for green homes,” said Ron Jones, who chaired the consensus committee charged with developing the standard.

 ”The standard provides home builders and remodelers with a much more expansive third-party rating system that they can use to achieve green certification under NAHBGreen and the National Green Building Certification Program,” said Mike Luzier, CEO of the NAHB Research Center.

The Research Center provides certification for NAHBGreen projects, which until now have only included single-family homes. “Consumers are looking for authentic, verifiable green building practices, and now they’ll find them with a true industry consensus standard for residential green building,” Luzier said.

The standard defines what green practices can be incorporated into residential development and construction and how home owners can operate and maintain their green homes.

But the National Green Building Standard also provides for flexibility – allowing home builders and home buyers to make green choices based on climate and geography as well as style preferences and budget.

As part of the stringent process required by ANSI, NAHB and the International Code Council gathered a fully inclusive and representative consensus committee composed of a broad spectrum of builders, architects, product manufacturers, regulators and environmental experts. The work of the consensus committee was administered by the NAHB Research Center, an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer.

The consensus committee deliberated the content of the standard for more than a year, held four public hearings and evaluated more than 2,000 public comments in the development of the standard.

Source: NHBA/Green Builders Info

DV Wise

The new affiliation makes it even easier for home buyers in those states to find green homes and provides additional technical training, education and business opportunities for HBA members.

“I’m delighted to welcome the home builders in these seven states to the certification services offered through NAHBGreen,” said Dunn, who is a home builder in Point Pleasant, W. Va.,. “Our members are looking for an authentic, cost-effective and voluntary way to offer certified green homes to their clients, and they will find it in www.NAHBGreen.com.”

In addition to serving as a gateway to green home certification services, NAHBGreen-affiliated programs offer green building seminars and classes to their members, including the Green Building for Building Professionals class required for builders, remodelers and others seeking the Certified Green Professional educational designation from the NAHB University of Housing. Nearly 1,300 industry professionals have earned the designation since its February introduction.

Buyers seeking homes built with energy-, water- and resource-efficient features can call their local home building associations to find green builders in their area – or meet them at the Parades of Homes, Green Home Expos and other consumer events sponsored by affiliated programs.

Seven local HBAs also affiliated with NAHBGreen last week:

Huntsville / Madison County, Ala., Builders Association

Northern Idaho Building Contractors Association

Home Builders Association of Jackson, Miss.

Lake Norman, N.C., Home Builders Association

Wilmington-Cape Fear, N.C., Home Builders Association

Johnson City, Tenn., Area Home Builders Association

Building Industry Association of Clark County, Wash.

“The future of home building is green, and if you don’t get ahead of it now, you’ll be left behind,” noted Jeff Stokley, president of the Wilmington-Cape Fear HBA. His HBA is encouraging its members to become Certified Green Professionals and building up its ranks of home verifiers so builders can draw on their expertise as well.

Stokley himself has broken ground on a 1,132-unit development in which he expects each home to achieve at least NAHB silver-level certification. The development will open in the spring.

National Green Building Certification is administered by the NAHB Research Center, which trains and accredits local verifiers to inspect homes in their area. NAHB oversees the educational offerings, including the annual NAHB National Green Building Conference, which takes place May 8-10, 2009 in Dallas, and the NAHB National Green Building Awards.

Source: NHBA/Green Builders Info

DV Wise

“With everything that has been going on in our industry right now, The Nationals are a great reminder of why we do what we do,” said Sheri Jackson, MIRM, a Raleigh, NC based consultant and chairman of the 2010 Nationals. “These awards celebrate the achievements of the best new home sales and marketing professionals and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”

The Nationals is the nation’s largest competition for new-home sales and marketing professionals and communities, typically drawing over 900 entries and more than 900 attendees. Now in its 29th year, The Nationals will recognize this year’s winners during an awards ceremony held during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.

Open to residential projects with homes available for sale between September 1, 2008 and September 1, 2009 and individual and sales and marketing council categories covering the same time period are eligible to enter. Entrants now have until October 28, 2009, to submit their projects for consideration.

The 53 categories set for this year’s Nationals include recognizing professional excellence in various aspects of design, marketing, interior merchandising, advertising and sales achievement, along with a few new categories such as model home makeover, strategic sales promotion and on the boards community.

Exclusive Co-Sponsor of The Nationals is MetLife Home Loans. Elite sponsor Professional Builder magazine will feature selected winners in special editorial coverage in the magazine. Other Elite sponsors include Move.com and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

The 2010 awards event will be held January 19 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Visit www.thenationals.com for complete entry guidelines and entry forms.

For more information, e-mail Lisa Parrish at lparrish@thenationals.com, or call her at 800-658-2751 or 909-987-2758.

Source: www.nahb.org

DV Wise

DV Wise

Davidson college, although small, is one of the top academic institutes in NC, and enroll students from across the nation. The pristine environment surrounding the college is relaxing and stress free, with a large amount of traffic being on foot or bicycle.

New homes are being built in Davidson, but the major interest seems to be in purchasing and renovating the historic structures currently in place. Restoring a home is dramatically different from building one. The restoration process is slow and expensive, this is not a process for those with little patience or small budgets. The end results from restoring a home in historic Davidson, NC is immeasurable, with style and functionality being the forefront of the home.

Historically beautiful Davidson, NC has many peaceful summer evenings to offer a family, just ask those already enjoying the peacefulness.

DV Wise