Builders "Go Green" To Sell Homes

The push for environmentally friendly construction comes as the housing industry remains mired in a deep and protracted slump, with single-family housing starts off more than a third from 2005 and widely expected to keep sliding this year.

To stand out from the crowd, big home builders are going green for the first time or are expanding their existing programs — a departure from previous practice, when environmentally friendly building was mainly limited to a niche of smaller builders.

But results so far are mixed: some developments report increased traffic but no pickup in sales. Other builders say sales are on the upswing but it is too early to tell whether it is at a faster pace than their comparable, non-green developments. And the higher cost of green construction is proving a hurdle for some companies.