What do Women Really Want in a “Green Home”
More women are buying houses than men.
It is commonly said that women make 80% of the buying decision when purchasing a house. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand what influences the buying decisions of this market segment.
An article in USA Today by Noelle Knox discusses some of the trends that seem to influence the purchase of a home by single women. These include:
Women are marrying later in life
Divorce is more prevalent than earlier decades
Women are living 5 years (on average) longer than men – 79 yrs vs. 74 yrs.
Women have more money than before
Women have more earning power than before, making it easier to qualify for a loan.
The question is much like Mel Gibson’s Movie “What Women Want,” where his character doesn’t understand women and stumbles through the movie trying to figure out how to relate to his co-star Helen Hunt. So the big question is; When considering a “green home”, what do women really want?
I feel that green means healther living for the family to women. Most of them are concerned abut the Indoor air quality and would pay extra for superior IAQ. With the recent news of sick house syndrome and the FEMA trailer problems it is on the news and in everyones mind.
As a woman, I value enviromentally friendly housing because it contributes to a cleaner, healthier world for us and for our children. However, if that “green” housing is so expensive that the average person can’t even begin to afford it, or if the way the house looks is severely unappealing, then a “green home” is little more than a lofty ideal, in my opinion. Typically, men buy a house and women buy a home, meaning that a woman wants a place where she can feel “warm and cozy” and comfortable raising a family. For a man, if the numbers work out right, then it works for him. To me, green homes should match the architecture in the surrounding neighborhood and should be reasonably priced. What woman (or man) wants to buy a hideous piece of architecture that costs 3 times as much as the quaint, beautiful homes around it…even if it is “green”? I know I would have a hard time justifying that purchase.
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