Green Building in the Dallas Real Estate Market

Real estate standards are lower than they were five years ago. When homes sold well, when property was developed at a rapid pace, and most important—when money was plentiful—real estate seemed to have unlimited growth potential.

Such success inspired builders, architects, and property managers to use innovative design concepts to pave the way toward a more environmentally sound future.

Green design was suddenly the rage. Builders used smarter methods, architects focused on sustainability, and owners and renters sought alternative ways to heat, cool, and keep their properties clean.

The green trend is not limited to real estate. Everyday products, food and water supplies, and automobiles began rolling out cleaner, smarter products.

A wonderful new trend was now a thriving reality. Or so we thought. The one thing, the one secret people knew but did not want to address, was that going green was expensive.

By working with green technology, companies and organizations put to good use their increased budgets. That was fine when things were good. But now, well, things aren’t so good. And that has stalled green technology and the movement it inspired.

The real estate market is especially vulnerable to the ups and downs of the economy. Unable to sell homes, builders and realtors must find ways to produce cheaper properties. Thus green building is abandoned for techniques that are considerably more affordable.

The Dallas Morning News ran an article that discussed green trends in real estate.

While some developers might view green building as just a marketing gimmick, industry studies show that these construction techniques will explode during the coming years.

Green building has already risen by five times since 2005 and totals close to $50 billion annually, according to a recent report by McGraw-Hill Construction.

And the outlook is for green construction starts to triple by 2013.

While that news is promising, the article delivers a knock out blow in the next paragraph.

The credit crunch and economic recession have put the brakes on commercial construction starts around the country.

And residential building has plummeted more than 50 percent.

So that means fewer projects – green or otherwise – will be coming out of the ground.

This demonstrates the need to be creative, to employ foresight, and use resourceful materials—the very things green technology is based on—to find our way out of our current economic doldrums.

It is also a good time to be a renter. Apartments in Dallas have remained affordable. The city’s numerous neighborhoods and cultural diversity lend the area a rewarding cosmopolitan attitude. Until the economy revives, and green technology once again becomes the chief approach to building, renting an apartment might be the best choice to make.