Can Green Developments Sell in a Recession? The New York Times 5.31.09

Can Green Developments Sell in a Recession?
The New York Times 5.31.09

LEED-certified Garden Street Lofts in Hoboken, New Jersey

A few years ago green construction condos were selling just as well as traditional condos, but not anymore, says The New York Times. Apparently in the midst of this recession, sales have seriously slumped on eco-friendly condos in New York and New Jersey, which begs the question: Does the economy trump the environment?

It seems that many buyers consider sustainability a nice "bonus" but not an essential. So when things get tight, it's the first thing to go. Brokers for these eco-friendly buildings are trying to educate buyers by showing them the long-term benefits of going green in their home, like saving as much as a third on monthly utility bills. But it doesn't look like we're there yet.

What do you think? If you're in the market for a new home (or maybe just imagine you are), would you still be willing to spend more for green construction and amenities?

Read the whole article here.

Comments (1)

We have a 5 house development in Bend that had some of the first LEED certified homes in town. The developers went big on "luxury" as well, in a part of town that wasn't known for luxury, and on a very busy street. While the green features were nice, as were the floorplans, the project went bust.

The developer planned on selling them for around $895k each. The highest price any fetched was $450k, and that was from the VP of Marketing for the mortgage company that was about to foreclose on it. It is now a rental (empty) for $1600 a month. Three foreclosed and sold for $410k, $361k and $316k. The $316k one is now a vacation rental.

The last one has been in default for almost two years. The bank has not foreclosed yet and the asking price is down to $290k. If we didn't have a cat, or the house wasn't on a busy street I would buy it.

http://www.abacusgc.com/

When good ideas go bad.

posted by jonestim on June 22nd 2009 at 3:07pm
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