Renting Energy Efficient Apartments: 2012 Concept Community Part 1

Here is a good article shared by a colleague this morning that points out an opportunity of interest to multifamily housing owners and builders. It was written by John K. McIlwain who is the Senior Resident Fellow and J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing at the Urban Land Institute.

If you saw the video from an earlier post you might recall that there are mixed views on whether anyone is willing to pay for energy efficiency these days. My bet is that the tide is already turning and one of the big selling points for Gen Y will be energy efficiency. The article is called "How Home Builders Are Selling Green"

Here is the key takeaway from the full article:

This is a trend that the apartment industry in particular needs to watch. Its market is far younger than the homebuying market, a differentiation that will continue to grow as the young members of generation Y defer homebuying into their early and middle 30s. This, the largest generation ever, is also the one most committed and sensitive to the cost and use of energy. They are, by and large, an increasingly values-driven group, and climate considerations, sustainability, and reducing the use of energy are at the heart of their values. In short, the prime market for apartments is the greenest market in U.S. history.


We are about to formally announce a new project that will dig deeper into this debate called the 2012 Concept Community. More to come...soon! Rendering courtesy of KTGY Architects.