Hello readers online and in-print.

I am pleased to report, among the few brightly burning embers in the housing industry, all things green shine brightest.

The manufacturing community has been quick to realize the interest consumers hold in energy efficient and recycled products. There is a tremendous interest in renewable energy and everybody wants to reduce their overhead. Government has been somewhat helpful in terms of providing credits, incentives and rebates, although some of these are set to expire. An over capacity among the manufacturers of solar panels is soon expected to produce consolidation in that industry and downward pressure on pricing- good news for builders who want to incorporate this technology in their homes to provide savings for buyers. GE and others are at the forefront of wind and solar energy alternatives. This type of energy is being seen increasingly in remodeled homes and in mid and high rise structures too.

Almost everyone who supplies products to the home building industry makes a ‘greener’ line too. In the next issue which is our Annual Summer Buyer’s Guide and Resource Directory edition, we will provide listings of green product manufacturers, green builders, architects, designers and design centers. If you are reading this online please click on the link here to submit your company listing for inclusion in the industry’s only Green Buyer’s Guide.

As our industry cycles through this somewhat painful correction, give a thought to how green home building may just be the solution to prompt tentative home buyers from their fence top perches. After all this is a great time to buy a new home, n’est pas?

Work hard, sharpen your pencils and I will see you in the marketplace.

Nick Slevin
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
nslevin@penpubinc.com

LIke a shiny star on a cold winter night, ‘the green beacon’ continues to lead the way, for an industry facing a myriad of challenges.

Amid rising foreclosures and ongoing constriction in mortgage credit markets and with home buyers perched firmly atop fences in every community, this subject continues to resonate strongly with the public, government and within the homebuilding community nationwide.

When I launched this magazine three summers ago as a companion to sister publication Builder and Developer, there was a need apparent for a homebuilding industry title wherein we could showcase the best and most forward thinking designs and projects presented by this rapidly growing sector of the homebuilding business.

So many of the components involved with home building are affected by this huge subject. From development through design and construction, a house makes a significant footprint. I have to say how pleased we have been with the continuing positive reception to the magazine. The favorable response has prompted us to add two issues and become by-monthly in 2009. The mail sack gets heavier with each month as more great projects and columns find their way here. We will continue to seek out the leaders in design and construction and showcase the best of the best. The magazine has a particularly large online subscriber base and readership, which is most gratifying too.