Zero Net Energy homes in the New Paltz area are struggling to sell.
With many of the nine houses on Evergreen Lane and the 26 in the Green Acres complex remaining unoccupied, New Paltz realtor Wendie Reid blames the real estate market for the lack of sales.
Some of “the houses have been on the market for four years,” Reid said. “Due to the bad market, no homes have been selling well.”
Each home is equipped with five elements that make them Zero Net Energy: Insulted Concrete Forms (ICF), triple pane windows, and solar, heat, and geothermal energy recovery. The homes are built by Green Hill Contracting and are in walking distance of the village.
“These houses are all built with improved quality, and are made to last 10 times longer than a regular house,” Anthony Aebi, president of Green Hill Contracting, said. “Ideally these houses should last…hundreds of years.”
Aebi claimed responsibility for selling most of the newly-constructed properties last year, even in a struggling market.
“They have been selling at as good a rate as can be expected in this market,” Aebi said. “Hopefully they will be sold soon.”
Reid said prices of the Zero Net Energy homes can be similar to traditional homes in New Paltz that have the same square footage.
Sale prices for traditional homes in the town and village of New Paltz average $444,695, according to trulia.com, which tracks real estate figures. Zero Net Energy homes start at around $400,000, according to Aebi.
Due to decreased energy use, the buyer can receive around $23,000 in tax credits from the government.
