- this is confirmation that we are doing the right thing. As reported by the Green Resource Council – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS®, indications are that home builders that build ES homes have a leg up in the market. Based on a study by the North Carolina Energy Efficiency Alliance, these houses sold in less time for more money.

Quantifiable data supporting the notion that it pays off for home builders to build more energy efficient homes has been scarce since most of the programs are fairly new in the residential market. But doesn’t it make sense? Of course people are willing to pay more for a home that costs less to operate! Think about this… you are looking to buy a house in Dallas, you found two home builders you like, two homes on the same block, same size, same finish-out – but built by two different home builders – one of these homes is energy star certified, the other one is built “only” to code (did you know that the building code requirements are laughable?) – After you do your due-diligence, you find out that the ES house costs 50% less to operate a month! Of course you buy that home, right?

That’s why we at EGC Custom Homes have committed to building 100% Energy Star – meaning we build all our homes in Dallas to the ES standard. But it’s not only about the money. Better built homes are more comfortable and healthy to live in, have less maintenance issues and in general cost less to maintain over the years – to read more about these specific facts, check out our blog post next week.

To read about the details of this study, click here.

EGC Custom Homes – Dallas’ Premier Home Builder

One of the standard features in all of our homes is “water efficiency”. That means that all appliances and plumbing fixtures are designed to use minimal mater, but most importantly, you won’t know the difference. In the past low-flow plumbing fixtures got a bad wrap, people complained about toilets not flushing properly and shower heads not putting out enough water to feel comfortable in the shower. That’s not the case anymore in todays’ market. At EGC, we have used watersense certified plumbing fixtures for over three years, and we have not had one client complaint so far.

But where water efficiency is most important is in landscaping and irrigation, where most of the water is used. The EPA estimates that more than 50% of the outdoor water used goes to waste, either by runoff or evaporation – this should tell you how important a well designed and installed irrigation system is. Most importantly, we install landscapes that are designed for our climate zone and can survive the hot Texas summers without a lot of water. At Bauhaus | EGC – we consider all these issues when designing and building your custom home, but whoever you choose as your home builder, make sure they know how to design and build for water efficiency.

If you would like to find out more about EGC’s water efficiency program, contact us today.

Some of the homes’ features include a solar thermal wall, a garden, and edible wall system, green roof system and a modular constructed wetland that helps filter and recycle greywater from the shower, clothes washer, and dishwasher.  The interior has two liquid desiccant waterfall systems for humidity control and a home automation system. To check it out in detail, check out their website (link above) or go to http://www.solardecathlon.gov/

You can find more pictures and videos on team Maryland’s website here.

This custom home is approx 3,300 sqft and will be Energy Star and LEED certified with a projected HERS index of 51 and a projected LEED Gold certification. EGC is working hard to stay ahead of the curve and being a leader and innovator of custom home builders in Dallas. In the next couple of weeks, we will be updating all the construction blog entries, so if you are interested in how this house is being built, from beginning to end, make sure and subscribe to our RSS feed or visit our website regularly. Also on the schedule is a beautiful modern Tuscan style home in Preston Hollow with a projected groundbreaking the end of September. We will also post pictures and updates of that project soon. Lastly, we just updated our Flickr page with all recent construction photos of the energy efficient home on Greenbrier – so if you’re interested – follow this link. A few snapshots below…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Phil Crone, Director of Government Affairs, 972-244-3217 or phil.crone@dallasbuilders.com
June 7, 2011

Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas Endorses Mike Rawlings for Mayor of Dallas

Dallas, TX, June 6, 2011 – The Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas (HBA), a 1,200-member organization representing residential home builders, announced its endorsement of Mike Rawlings for City of Dallas Mayor. Prior to making this decision, the HBA conducted in-person candidate interviews.

“Each candidate in the mayoral race brings a unique skill set and experiences that they can draw on to serve them while in office,” said Keller Webster, chairman of the HBA’s Government Relations Committee. “Our industry supports Mike Rawlings because his business background will bring an entrepreneurial culture to City Hall. That, combined with his proven track record on issues such as economic development and homelessness, will help residential home builders facilitate the continued growth of our city.”

Early voting for the runoff elections for mayor and City Council District 12 begins today and Election Day is Saturday, June 18.

About the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas:
The Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas is a non-profit trade association dedicated to enhancing its members’ ability to provide safe, affordable, and quality housing to citizens of local communities. The association does this by participating in the legislative process and by promoting new home ownership, industry advancements, and community good works.  The HBA covers a seven-county area of some 5,500 square miles with a population of more than 3 million and is the local affiliate of the Texas Association of Builders and the National Association of Home Builders.  The HBA’s membership includes more than 1,200 builders, developers, and remodelers, suppliers, vendors, and associated businesses and services.

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Dallas, TX  - April 21, 2011

Starting the 2nd quarter of 2011 strong, EGC Custom Homes is happy to announce yet another new custom home project. The single family residence, to be built in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas will be built to Green Built Texas, Energy Star and Environments for Living standards.

The project at 6622 Norway in Preston Hollow will enter the design phase in late April with an anticipated construction start of July 2011.

For more information on this project, please contact Marc Kleinmann.

EGC Custom Homes is happy to announce our latest project, to be built in the Devonshire neighborhood of Dallas. Being built to Green Built Texas standards, this highly energy efficient, Mid-Century Modern styled residence will nicely integrate into a well established neighborhood of mainly single-story/single-family homes. Currently in the conceptual planning phase, the home will feature 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths with approx 3,200 sqft of living space. The anticipated construction start is June of 2011 with an anticipated completion date by the end of the year. As always, design and construction progress will be documented on our website – so anyone interested should make sure and subscribe to our RSS feed.

For more information on this project, please contact Marc Kleinmann.

On April 22-23, 2011, Earth Day Dallas, a not-for-profit organization led by environmentalist Trammell S. Crow and other community leaders, hopes to catalyze a “green” movement in Dallas by staging the inaugural Earth Day Dallas Festival in the heart of downtown.

Events will focus on entertaining, inspiring and educating Dallasites with various ways to think, work and live green by showcasing emerging green technology, providing eco-friendly family activities, presenting enlightening lectures from environmental leaders, a variety of music and much more.

With more than 200 civic, corporate and not-for-profit partners engaged, organizers forecast the 2011 celebration will go down as the biggest and most impactful Earth Day celebration in the history of Dallas!

So if this sounds interesting to you, come see us at booth #636 Friday and Saturday from 10am – 5.00pm.

Think it’s time to buy… or not?? Been on the fence to buy a new home, buy an existing home and remodel it or even finally tackle building that new home? Well… now may be the time . Good buying opportunities are cropping up in select local markets. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the worst in the housing market is over in most areas. Data from Local Market Monitor Inc, , a real-estate research company based in Cary, N.C, confirms that here in Dallas we’re blessed with one of the better markets in the Nation.

So what does that mean for you as a potential home buyer? Well, from our point of view, the window to get a real “deal” on a lot or existing home with remodeling potential might be closing. We have seen a sharp uptick in buyer interest, had some clients who locked into deals, and a couple that lost out on an opportunity because of competing offers – all signs that the time to buy is now. But don’t rely on our opinion to make that decision. There are plenty of good resources out there for you to do your own research on the home building market. Check out NAHB.org, The Wall Street Journal, and our local Home Builders Association for some good information on the issue.

On that note… if you do decide to build a new home or buy an existing home and tackle a remodeling project, we would like for you to stop by our office first. Being specialists in building and remodeling sustainable, energy efficient homes makes us the first choice for many buyers. We can offer a full service package – from initial consultation to design and building your home – a one-stop shop and turnkey solution that is designed to make the homebuilding and remodeling project enjoyable and easy for our clients. Contact us today.