Americans are willing to pay more for a “green” home if, that is, lawmakers are willing to offer ways to help defray the extra cost, a recent survey found.

Seventy-eight percent of registered voters polled last month in a survey commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders said they’d be more inclined to purchase a home with environmentally friendly features if the government offered incentives or rebates. Among those who said they’d be willing to pay more for a green home, 74% said they’d be willing to pay no more than an extra 10%.

Interestingly enough, I’ve heard green builders in the Pacific Northwest say over and over again that adding green features might only increase a home’s price by 7-10%. I recently toured “The Homestead”, new Martha Rose Construction in the Greenwood neighborhood and she confirmed those numbers. Those green features will also create energy savings down the road. The use of solar could even make your meter run backwards and you could get a check from the Seattle City Light instead of getting a bill from the utility.

Watch this video of the Martha Rose Construction process to get a thorough understanding of what differentiates a green home from just any other home. And, of course, if it had not been pitch black out when my Green Real Estate class toured these homes, I would have more pictures! And it goes without saying if you’re interested in touring these homes as a prospective buyer, email me using the button on the right hand side of your screen. What environmentlal conscious home buyer wouldn’t want to buy a house from a cool builder that had not one, but TWO, Smarties in the garage at the construction site?

The findings illustrate an important point: While green features enjoy popularity these days, consumers aren’t blind to the immediate effect the technologies will have on their pocketbooks.

There’s no doubt that green is hot, but most consumers have to balance that desire to be environmentally conscious with their concern for preserving the greenbacks in their wallets.