Green homes wanted in suburbs

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Central Austin is not the only haven for green living. Many clients who are looking for new homes in suburbs like Pflugerville, Round Rock and Buda now want green homes, according to Darin Chaffin, Managing Partner at Chaffin Realty .

"I do get a lot of clients calling in and asking about green homes where I wasn't getting that three years ago," Chaffin said.

Chaffin recently got an EcoBroker Certification from Austin Energy because of the increasing number of calls relating to energy-efficient homes.

"Now you've got all the homebuilders you know Pflugerville, Round Rock down to Buda. Everyone is incorporating green features in their homes," said Chaffin.

Developers like Lennar Homes are buiding green features in many of their homes. Some of those features include windows and doors that don't allow as much heat to get in, a radiant barrier under the decking of your roof that keeps your attic cool, more efficient air conditioning systems, energy star appliances and in some cases solar panels.

Chaffin said developers are using these features as a bargaining tool to get more people in a new home, "All of us of course want to help the environment, but in an economy like this the great thing about energy efficiency is that it saves you a lot of money ."