Builders Push 'Green' to Stand Out in Foreclosure-Filled Market.

The Bloomberg News (7/17) reports, "As the housing slump enters its sixth year," homebuilders of assorted sizes "are using green marketing as a weapon in the battle for buyers who have their pick of low- priced existing properties, including foreclosures. Builders are touting a confusing array of potentially profit-pinching environmental standards that have yet to prove effective in swaying consumers." According to data produced by McGraw-Hill Construction, "sales of green homes accounted for 16 percent of the $100 billion homebuilding industry last year, up from 2 percent in 2006." Some builders note building energy-efficient homes gives them a leg up from previously owned homes. Sean Penrith, executive director of the Earth Advantage Institute, is one of several industry experts to suggest "a single national metric similar to the miles-per-gallon sticker on cars," that would measure a home's efficiency, "allowing buyers to easily compare both new and existing homes."