The residential green building market is expected to be worth $12-20 billion this year, and $40-70 billion in five years.

According to recent McGraw-Hill Construction market research investigating “green” home building (co-sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders) the residential green building market is expected to be worth $12-20 billion (6-10 percent of the market) this year. In five years (2012), the market is expected to double to 12-20 percent market share, or $40-70 billion.

“We have hit the tipping point for builders going green,” said Harvey M. Bernstein, McGraw-Hill Construction vice president of Industry Analytics, Alliances and Strategic Initiatives. “This year, the number of builders who are moderately green (those with 30 percent green projects) has surpassed those with a low share of green (those who are green in less than 15 percent of their projects).

“Next year, we will see even greater growth, with highly green builders (those with 60 percent green projects) surpassing those with a low share of green. This year has seen an 8 percent jump over last year, and we expect another 10 percent increase next year.”

Another revelation from the study: 40 percent of builders think green building helps them market their homes in a down market.

“It’s official: Green has gone mainstream,” said Ray Tonjes, chair of the Green Building Subcommittee for NAHB, who believes its members are ready for the market transformation that is forecast.

The study also found “quality” has emerged in this down market as the most important reason for building green. Previously, McGraw-Hill reports, builders were motivated by energy cost savings of green homes and doing the right thing, which still came in No.2 this year. This is likely due to green home marketing and how it improves quality of life.

For more information on NAHB, please visit www.nahb.org.