Two important studies just released conclude that new homes already exceed the state’s ambitious 2020 greenhouse gas emission reductions requirements. The studies show that new homes are not part of the greenhouse gas problem, but rather are part of the solution.

The benchmark for the state’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) is the home built in 1990, and homes built today are far more energy-efficient. If AB 32’s ambitious goals are to be met, the focus must be on retrofitting the existing housing stock.

The residential sector accounts for only 14 per cent of the state’s total emissions, far behind transportation (41 per cent) and industrial (25 per cent). In a state with nearly 13.3 million housing units, new housing is adding less than one percent to the total housing stock each year, and because the new homes are so energy-efficient, emissions from those new homes make up just one-tenth of one percent of the state’s total annual GHG emissions.

The California Building Industry Association supported the adoption of new mandatory green building standards which will help ensure that California remains at the cutting edge of the green building movement while keeping new homes as affordable as possible.

The California Building Standards Commission on July 17 made California the first state in the nation to incorporate green building standards into its building codes. The codes, developed by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, will be phased in over the next three years. The new statewide standards will help homebuilders move green building into the mainstream.

California homebuilders are already building homes that are far more energy-efficient than homes built to national standards, and that also conserve water and other important natural resources. In fact, the carbon footprint of a new home built today is already 25 percent less than that of a home built in 1990.

Everybody has undoubtedly heard the news that Governor Schwarzenegger has declared that California is in a drought and we need to conserve as much water as possible. The homebuilding industry is especially concerned about California’s water situation and shares the Governor’s commitment to increase our water supply and improve our water conveyance infrastructure.

Our industry stands ready to work with Governor Schwarzenegger and our legislative leaders to solve the water crisis facing our state.

However before we can find solutions, we need to set the record straight about growth in California and the real impact new homes have on water demand. As Dan Walters recently pointed out, “California's population has doubled since the last major water projects were built in the 1960s, and it probably will increase by another third by 2030. Having more people means more demand for water, even with the most stringent conservation programs.”

With California on track in 2008 to have the lowest number of housing permits (79,000) issued since statewide records have been kept (1954), and while California continues to grow by nearly a half-million new residents per year, the housing affordability crisis in California will continue to worsen.

Yes, we know that home prices are down as much as 20-30% in many parts of the state, but that will be short-lived. Why, you ask?

Well, there is an alignment of many unfortunate factors. Even though some land ready for development in the fastest growing parts of the state is virtually worthless today, there is not enough land identified for housing to really meet our growth needs, so in the not-too-distant future that land will again be producing $200,000 building lots.