Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced that it will launch the NAHB National Green Building Program Feb. 14, at the 2008 NAHB International Builders' Show in Orlando.

The national initiative will link dozens of successful state and local green building programs with a universal online certification tool, national registry of green homes and green builders, and a wealth of educational tools and resources for home builders and homebuyers. To date, about 100,000 green homes have been built through programs run or supported by local building associations around the country.

"We are bringing green building into the mainstream," said NAHB President Brian Catalde, a homebuilder in Southern California. "The NAHB National Green Building Program isn't a new way to build green. However, it's a low-cost administrative and certification system that will help keep green affordable — and that's the key to market acceptance. Where better to announce it than during the largest trade show of its kind in the world?"

In addition to the national program, NAHB's Certified Green Professional designation will debut at the 2008 show as well as educational offerings for green builders, developers and remodelers. The Certified Green Professional designation is awarded after 24 hours of course work and requires regular additional continuing education credits.

New survey data backs up the need for the new program. The vast majority of Americans are willing to pay more for a green home — as long as lawmakers are willing to offer incentives or rebates to help defray the extra costs, said the results of a survey conducted last week by the firm Public Opinion Strategies for the National Association of Home Builders.

The survey of registered voters showed that 78 percent of respondents would be more inclined to purchase a green home "if the government offered incentives or rebates," according to the results.

"In fact, 44 percent of respondents say they would be much more inclined to buy a green home if incentives were available," said Neil Newhouse, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies. "That's a pretty strong indication of the power of state and federal support for energy and resource efficiency in new homes."

"This survey strengthens our resolve to continue to work with environmental advocates and encourage Congress to extend the Energy Efficiency Tax Credit," said Catalde.

Such findings also corresponded with the results from another survey question asking how much respondents would be willing to pay for a green home. Among those who said they'd be prepared to pay more for a home with green features, fully 74 percent said they'd be willing to pay no more than an additional 10 percent, highlighting the need to keep green building affordable.

"NAHB has been in the forefront of the green building movement, ensuring that our customers, America's homebuyers, have choices. They prefer to spend money on green features, not excessive fees. That's the homebuyer that the NAHB National Green Building Program is designed to benefit," Catalde said.