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NEW YORK — During the prolonged housing downturn, green homes "provided support to the ailing residential market and now promise to be an important element of the recovering market, as well." That's the key fnding of a new study conducted by Dodge Data & Analytics, in partnership with the National Association of Home Builders, and with the support of Ply Gem Industries, a leading supplier of exterior building products. According to the study, whose results were released last month by the Washington, DC-based NAHB, a high percent- age of home builders and residential remodelers are already building green and expect to do so in the future, despite head- winds created by growing concerns about costs. The fndings also demonstrate that consumers' association of green with healthier homes leads to "even higher potential for growth in the future, as do an increased use of renewable technologies by 2018," according to the NAHB. The study, which surveyed 232 builders and remodelers from across the U.S., demonstrates "that they recognize the benefts of green building," the NAHB said. Specifcally, the study found that: • More than half (54%) of surveyed home builders are currently constructing at least 16% of their new homes green, and 39% of remodelers report that at least 16% of their remodeling projects are green. • By 2020, nearly all home builders (81%) will be con- structing that level of green, with over half (51%) building at least 60% of their new homes green. • By 2020, remodelers report a similar level of growth, with nearly three quarters (74%) making at least 16% of their projects green, and over one third (36%) completing over 60% of their projects green. According to the study's fndings, the expectations of higher green building and remodeling involvement emerge "despite growing concerns about the cost of building green." The study found, for example, that 77% of home builders and remodelers report that building green has an incremental cost over traditional construction of 5% or more. While higher cost is also reported as the top obstacle to build- ing and remodeling green, it does not appear to have dampened the drive toward green in the market, researchers said. "Builders and remodelers have long recognized that green is the future of home building," said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods. "The study's fndings reinforce this continued growth, with [consumer] feedback showing a desire and expectation that new homes be high-performing, particularly when it comes to energy conservation," Woods noted. "Most builders recognize that they need to be at least conversant in green to stay competitive," he added. One key factor driving the growth of green is the association of green homes with healthier living, researchers pointed out. "We have seen the commercial sector of the construc- tion industry focus on the impact of buildings on the health of their occupants in the last few years, but these fndings suggest that attention to healthier homes may ofer an even higher gain for green in the residential market, especially as consumers become better informed about the features that make homes more sustainable and healthier, and begin to demand them," said Steve Jones, senior director of Industry Insights at New York-based Dodge Data & Analytics. Another factor leading to growth in the residential market is the increasing use of renewable technologies. For example, by 2018, nearly half of home builders and remod- elers expect to be using solar photovoltaic (48%) and ground source heat pump (52%) technologies. Net zero homes are also emerging as an important trend, with nearly one quar- ter (21%) of home builders having built a net zero home in the last two years. A particularly interesting fnding of the study, researchers said, is that the greatest impetus for green homes comes not from millennials, as many might expect, but from consumers age 55 and older. "Therefore, as the environmentally-minded millennials gain more experience with homeownership, it is quite possi- ble that there could be even greater demand for green in the future," the study concluded. Study Sees Green Design Focus The Neil Kelly Co. showroom, with its focus on sustainable building and design and green products, refects a growing trend toward greener living, with demand for green homes increasing most, interestingly enough, among consumers 55 and older. 12 Kitchen & Bath Design News • January 2016 CONSUMER BUYING TRENDS DEMOGRAPHICS & BUYING PATTERNS FOR THE HOME SALES GROUP SALES DIRECTOR AND MIDWEST MANAGER Paul DeGrandis (847) 920-9510 Paul@SOLAbrands.com EAST/SOUTHEAST Joanne Naylor (201) 891-9170 Joanne@SOLAbrands.com Beth Emerich (781) 710-4745 EmerichB@SOLAbrands.com WEST/SOUTHWEST Reed Fry (949) 223-1088 Reed@fry-comm.com PRODUCT & LITERATURE SHOWCASE/CLASSIFIED ADS Mike Serino (630) 699-2004 Mike@SOLAbrands.com EDITORIAL Janice Anne Costa , Editor (516) 605-1426 Janice@SOLAbrands.com Anita Shaw , Managing Editor (631) 581-2029 Anita@SOLAbrands.com Ashley Lapin Olian , Associate Editor (312) 685-1334 Ashley@SOLAbrands.com PUBLISHING SOLA GROUP, INC. 724 12TH ST., SUITE 1W WILMETTE, IL 60091 (847) 920-9510 Paul DeGrandis , Publisher Paul@SOLAbrands.com Eliot Sefrin , Publisher Emeritus Eliot@SOLAbrands.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Kitchen & Bath Design News Circulation Dept. 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