Real Estate Buyers are Eco Aware

Orlando area Real Estate buyers are looking toward more Eco friendly homes.
Just outside downtown Winter Garden, on the south shore of Lake Apopka, sits the tiny town of Oakland. The sleepy rural enclave of 1,100, which was first settled more than a century ago, is now poised to make local history—at least in the realm of environmentally-friendly homebuilding.
Oakland Park, a new subdivision by Castle and Cooke, is the first Certified Green Community in Central Florida. The designation was awarded by the Florida Green Building Council.
Of course, that means all the homes in Oakland Park will be green. But it also means the entire project has been blessed by the council based on eight criteria ranging from site planning to landscaping.
"It’s something no other community in Orlando is doing," says Bob Hennen, vice president of sales and marketing for Castle and Cooke.
But others will likely follow suit. Green building, once a somewhat vague real-estate catch phrase, is now regarded by developers as good social policy and good business.
According to the latest research by the National Association of Realtors, 65 percent of buyers now view energy efficiency as an important consideration and 46 percent of buyers would prefer a green home.
Orlando Home Buyer Magazine