While green features appear appealing, the question remains whether home shoppers would be willing to pay a premium for them. Sixty-eight percent of buyers say they want an environmentally friendly home, but they admit they aren’t willing to pay more for it, according to the survey. “Home buyers aren’t as willing to open up their pocket books to help save the environment, but when you rephrase the question and talk about the savings that owning such a home would bring to them, then you get different responses,” Quint said.

Case in point: When asked if they’d be willing to pay more if they could save more on annual utility costs, buyers overwhelmingly say yes. For example, if they could save $1,000 per year on utilities, 46 percent of home buyers say they’d then be willing to pay an extra $1,000 to $9,999 on a home with green features; 37 percent would pay $10,000 or more for that type of savings. That said, buyers purchasing homes in lower price brackets (less than $150,000) were the least willing to make an investment in green home features, the study shows.

Quint urged those in the housing industry to change their tone when promoting green homes. Most consumers are unfamiliar with green certification programs, such as LEED or HERS (24 percent and 22 percent, respectively). “That doesn’t seem to resonate or turn as many hearts on to going green,” Quint said. Instead, promote the money savings in utility bills that owners can gain from owning such a home, Quint said.