Last month, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released its annual State of the Nation’s Housing report. The gist: There are still looming challenges for the industry and now that the federal government first-time homebuyer programs have expired [after basically keeping the industry alive through most of 2009 and this year], what’s next? We’ll be featuring the report in our October issue, though I mention it here since one piece of the research that really resonated was on green building and the opportunities that builders and remodelers should be all over. Sure, we all know green building is hot; it saves homeowners money; it lets builders differentiate.

Not convinced? Here’s what Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, had to say about green building:

“Not only can new green building standards and innovative architectural designs help reduce energy consumption in the next generation of homes, there are opportunities to wring major savings out of the existing housing stock.”

He’s spot on. And that’s the nut of our green building remodeling piece on page 28: Take advantage of the new technology, materials and rebates to sell to your customers. One remodeler interviewed for the piece says he wouldn’t be in business if he hadn’t started offering some sort of cost savings to customers if they remodeled green. In fact, a recent poll on BNmag.com revealed that more than 31% of readers believe that a green retrofit of existing homes will be one of the best bets for pulling builders out of the recession.

With more robust government incentives and rebates being offered, easier ways to get green product from your local yard [it wasn’t always easy, way back in 2004], and consumers being more aware than ever of the advantages of green remodeling and the energy savings that come with it, it seems like a no-brainer. If you haven’t considered building or remodeling green, I’d sure like to hear why not.

On the same topic of offering healthy and high-performing homes is indoor air quality. Not the most terribly sexy topic we’ve written about, though it’s definitely important enough to include a couple times a year in our pages.

Offering cleaner and healthier indoor air, whether that’s through low-VOC products or ventilation systems is more than just a gimmick for multifamily developers – it’s a necessity, and in some cases, mandatory, as projects get built tighter and progressively become more energy efficient.

Installing ventilation systems for multifamily projects, though, brings its own sets of challenges and problems. Our piece on page MM4 explores these issues as well as how some developers have successfully built healthier buildings and marketed them to a growing customer base of health-conscious buyers.

The other kind of green, you know, the money kind, is top of mind with every single person in the building industry. One of our newest columnists, Paul Berkowitz, lays out the realities of getting financed in his column on page 51. There are opportunities, he says, as long as you’re realistic, have a track record with your lender, expect some nonflexible loan documents and have a clear exit strategy. It’s an illuminating piece and one that definitely brings some optimism to our industry.