The VESTA Home Show, held each year by the Memphis Area Home Builders Association, is always a popular event among the metropolitan area’s homebuyers and other consumers and showcases the fine work of this HBA’s members. This year was no exception – but what made it unique was that every home on the parade was certified to the National Green Building Standard.

In fact, it was a VESTA home that happened to be the 500^th home to receive National Green Building Certification from the NAHB Research Center. It was built by the home building company Chamberlain & McCreery, and I congratulate them on this milestone.

NAHBGreen is growing fast.  Our Certified Green Professionals now number more than 4,500, there are 125 affiliated state and local green building programs, and the demand for certification is only getting stronger.

More than 625 homes, remodeling projects and residential developments been been certified to date by the NAHB Research Center, which administers National Green Building Certification for NAHBGreen. There were more than 400 others scheduled for rough inspection.

The projects include 585 new single-family homes and townhouses certified to the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines and 133 new and remodeled single-family homes and developments certified to the National Green Building Standard.

"Every week, the number of certified homes increases, and last month we saw an impressive 16% growth in the number of certifications," Michelle Desiderio told me. Michelle is Director of Green Building Programs at the NAHB Research Center.

"I think what is most interesting is that we have 333 builders and 378 verifiers in the program,  which for the relatively short time it has been operating, is a terrific number of program partners," she added. 

"Also, the number of projects scored to the standard increased 33% last month, which demonstrates the strong growth the standard is enjoying in only nine months since being approved by the American National Standards Institute," Michelle said.  "In addition, there are over 9,200 unique registered users for the Green Scoring Tool."

That's quite an impressive collection of numbers, isn't it?  But what's even more impressive is the dedication of our members and what they can accomplish -- even in these trying times. I saw it at the VESTA Home Show in Memphis, and I have been lucky enough to witness stories like theirs all over the country.

We're all crossing our fingers, of course, but we hope that the extension and expansion of the federal tax credit for home buyers will be the light all of us need at the end of what's been a very long tunnel.

From where I sit, that light looks awfully green!

Bob Jones