Generational Marketing 2026

00:00:04:18 - 00:00:31:25
Mike Collignon: All right. Happy Wednesday everyone. I guess I should say happy white shirt day. Yeah. That's today. They sometimes they're profound. And then there are ones like today. What are you going to do? Our topic today is generational marketing. And we have a housing market transformed by climate anxiety. I powered everything. Affordability, gridlock and a cultural a cultural shift.

00:00:32:02 - 00:01:11:02
Mike Collignon: Excuse me toward meaning over materialism. Now, that means yesterday's assumptions fail. Unfortunately, you are attending Greenfield, the media's annual provocative, data rich general generational marketing webinar that will decode the emotional drivers, the economic realities, the design desires and sustainability expectations shaping boomers, Gen X, millennials, Gen Z and the emerging Gen Alpha. Yeah. Update your generational scorecard. We're going Greek now here to help us figure out a new path forward is Sarah Gutterman, co-founder and CEO of Green Building Media.

00:01:11:04 - 00:01:35:09
Mike Collignon: Sarah is a former venture capitalist who graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College and holds an MBA in entrepreneurship and Finance from the University of Colorado. She has established a reputation as a visionary, thought leader and passionate advocate for sustainability, and she works closely with a diverse group of stakeholders in the building industry to develop impactful, long term green strategies that are simultaneously sustainable and profitable.

00:01:35:11 - 00:01:58:15
Mike Collignon: Now, today's webinar is brought to you by forward thinking sponsors. The first is powered by Envy Energy. They are a program that helps residential and business customers conserve energy and save money on their power bills. Power shift is a one stop resource to find energy efficient products and services. For more information, please visit their website at n v energy.com slash.

00:01:58:17 - 00:02:26:20
Mike Collignon: Power Shift Pro VA is your one source for professional class, durable, energy efficient home exterior products. Pro via entry, storm and patio doors. Vinyl windows, manufactured stone and metal roofing are offered in a multitude of systems, finishes and custom sizes. Partner with Pro V.A for exterior products your customers want, and the Whirlpool Corporation is committed to being the best global kitchen and laundry company.

00:02:26:22 - 00:02:48:01
Mike Collignon: In constant pursuit of improving life at home in an increasingly digital world, the company is driving purposeful innovation to meet the evolving needs of consumers. Now you can submit questions at any time. Simply use the Q&A function near the bottom of the zoom window. Now review those questions and post those to her during the Q&A time set aside after her presentation.

00:02:48:04 - 00:02:50:15
Mike Collignon: Sarah, it's good to see you again.

00:02:50:17 - 00:03:09:08
Sara Gutterman: Mike. It's always so great to see you. And I think as anyone who has ever heard me, talk about generational marketing, you know, that it's one of my very favorite things to talk about. We've got a new presentation for you this year. And for those of you who have heard generational marketing presentations in the past. Bear with me.

00:03:09:08 - 00:03:31:14
Sara Gutterman: The first couple of slides, I'll give some context about each generation, you've seen and some of that information before, but I'm very excited, to rollout and hot off the press, brand new insights and data for you. And, for those of you who have not seen generational marketing presentations before, put your seat belt on. It's a it's a fast and wild ride.

00:03:31:22 - 00:03:50:23
Sara Gutterman: I'm going to try to get through a lot of information in the next hour. Hopefully we'll have time at the end for, some Q&A. For those of you not familiar with Green Builder Media, where North America's leading media company focused on green building and sustainable living. We, of course, lead with our media and communications channels.

00:03:51:00 - 00:04:14:07
Sara Gutterman: We also do vision House demonstration projects, and we have cognition, smart data, which is our market intelligence and data services division. All of the information that you will hear today, is derived from cognition, smart data. We do not collect housing starts and permits. There's other organizations that do a great job of that. We look at dynamics that are transforming markets.

00:04:14:07 - 00:04:44:04
Sara Gutterman: We look at size psychographics, purchase drivers, behavioral patterns, in the field, data about what people are buying, what they will buy. We derive our data from our trade and our consumer audience. So, hundreds of thousands of the most progressive building professionals across the US and Canada and millions of early adopter and first mover consumers, they're homeowners and aspiring homeowners.

00:04:44:07 - 00:05:10:19
Sara Gutterman: We, derive data from all generations at this point. But, we're really focused today on boomers, Xers, millennials and Zs, a little bit on alphas. But generally those four generations that are influencing the housing market, why do we care about generational marketing? It's really because, you know, each generation has its own set of values and perceptions about, everything.

00:05:10:21 - 00:05:40:19
Sara Gutterman: And those are uniquely applied to the housing market. So today we're going to look at those value sets and how they are applied to purchase drivers, behavioral patterns, etc. when it comes to the home and those value sets, those perceptions are generated originally from, each generation's unique upbringing. So whether there are wars or elections or social events or pandemics, what the economic environment is like, what the social environment is like.

00:05:40:21 - 00:06:16:09
Sara Gutterman: And so as we see that, each generation applies, those expectations, desires, demands, to the housing market and as different generations claim, the influencer position in that housing market, there again, needs and demand and expectations shift and change. And so, it's really, useful to understand, what those changes are so that we can then design and build and specify and create products accordingly.

00:06:16:11 - 00:06:37:19
Sara Gutterman: So I'm going to start with baby boomers again. For those of you who have seen generational marketing before, this is similar information to what you've seen in the past. It's for context. Bear with me. We've got a couple of slides, that, that offer, you know, again, some refresher data. We'll call it. So baby boomers, this is an active and affluent generation.

00:06:37:19 - 00:07:03:01
Sara Gutterman: They're redefining retirement. They're aging with gusto. They're not moving to golf communities at 55 and never working again. That's just not a model that exists anymore. So many are in their second or third career or iteration of their career. Some are on second or third or fourth families. Boomers do own over half of all U.S household wealth.

00:07:03:03 - 00:07:32:11
Sara Gutterman: They hold the largest percentage of top level CEO and executive positions at fortune 500 companies and, elected positions at a federal level, high average household net worth at about 1.2 million. About 85% of adults 60 and over own their own homes. And this generation has always had a unique element with respect to their homes.

00:07:32:14 - 00:07:56:08
Sara Gutterman: And excuse me, in that they very much tie their homes to their identities. I think that's why when baby boomers were in their peak buying years, you saw the rise of McMansions because they very much wanted those large, beautiful spaces, even if they had living and dining rooms that were only used once a year and had to be maintained and cleaned and heated and cooling every day.

00:07:56:11 - 00:08:26:04
Sara Gutterman: But in those elegant, large, houses that were tied to their identity, was very much a part of that generational expectation and demand. Obviously, those demands have shifted and boomers are still very active in the housing market as they downsize, as they, look for homes where they can age in place, 70% plan to age in play, 65% intend to remodel, almost 95% want energy efficient homes.

00:08:26:06 - 00:08:52:02
Sara Gutterman: I think something that's, important to call out. And the standout feature of the boomer generation now is that many of them are retired or in just a different phase, or not in their peak earning phase. And so they're on fixed income. So they don't want surprises. They want predictable energy bills, they want predictable insurance premiums. They want predictable power access and water access.

00:08:52:02 - 00:09:17:19
Sara Gutterman: And surprises are not, they're they're they kind of, disrupt this generation more so than younger generations. That might be a little bit more adaptable. So, comfort, accessibility, durability, predictability. These are all things that boomers are looking for. They definitely do want to retire in place. They don't want, you know, the traditional nursing homes or retirement housing.

00:09:17:22 - 00:09:43:22
Sara Gutterman: But they want high performance homes that really protect their lifestyle, their health and their wealth. So when designing for boomers, you know, we look at a lot of the 55 plus, housing elements that, you know, have been, part of that. That set of expectations, for a long time, everything from wider doorways to durable, low maintenance materials.

00:09:43:25 - 00:10:14:08
Sara Gutterman: Now more and more, again, to, to fix energy costs and expectations, those high performance building envelope systems, windows and doors, etc.. One of the largest areas of opportunities for boomers that we've identified is assisted living technologies. So technologies that go in the home that aren't big brother intrusive, but that can allow these individuals to comfortably and safely age in place, whether those are monitors on things like refrigerators and toilets.

00:10:14:08 - 00:10:36:09
Sara Gutterman: So they can tell me if my mom is acting normally or if she's not, I get an alert, or whether it's, proactive indoor air quality systems or things that just help make life easier, for this age group. Moving on to Gen Xers now, Gen Xers are in their peak earning years or at the peak of their career.

00:10:36:09 - 00:11:03:29
Sara Gutterman: They've got about 2.4 trillion in spending power. And, they, have actually the highest level of cultural and economic influence. So it's a little bit disproportionate with their size. It's a young it's a smaller generation, but, they really are in a good place with respect to price, to income positioning for housing, for vehicles, for really anything that they're trying to buy again, because they are at the peak of their careers.

00:11:04:02 - 00:11:30:21
Sara Gutterman: Now, this is the sandwich generation, and 61% live in multi-generational households where, these Gen Xers are either taking care of or actually living with parents, children, in some cases, grandchildren. Now, this generation, was the hardest hit by the 2008 recession. They lost about 80% of their generational wealth. And so it's made them a very conservative home buyer.

00:11:30:24 - 00:11:48:18
Sara Gutterman: When they're looking at, for example, sustainability upgrades, they like the idea, but they want to see the ROI. It's also the generation of the X. So very fitness forward. They like home gyms. They also can work from home. Now, given where they are in their careers. They don't have to go into an office that they don't want to.

00:11:48:21 - 00:12:34:23
Sara Gutterman: So home, home offices, home gyms, and then, larger spaces both inside and outside where they can gather, those multi generations of their family and their friends are really important. So in designing for exercise again adaptable floor plans to accommodate for that multi multi-generational, living. Ergonomic spaces for home offices, you know, functional spaces for gyms, and anything that can really help prove that ROI and the return, whether that has to do with energy efficiency and lowering ongoing operating costs or resiliency to reduce insurance premiums, these folks are also looking, for neighborhoods that align with their lifestyles.

00:12:34:25 - 00:13:01:06
Sara Gutterman: And they really value function over flash, unlike the baby boomers, who, again, when they were in their peak years, tended to lean a little bit more towards that flash than function. Millennials, the largest generation and about 80% of the workforce. Now, you see that they have 2.5 trillion in spending power, which compared to the 2.4 trillion in spending power, that Xers have.

00:13:01:06 - 00:13:31:23
Sara Gutterman: But again, keep in mind there's about, you know, 10 million ish, 8 million ish, fewer Xers. So per capita Xers are still kind of winning that equation. But millennials are, you know, clearly kind of starting to enter their peak earning years. And, you know, again, they are, amassing equity quickly. We know that they sat on the sidelines with respect to homeownership for longer than older generations because of credit card debt.

00:13:31:23 - 00:14:07:02
Sara Gutterman: Student debt, just affordability challenges. However, that chasm has closed and millennials have caught up. And they are at a similar level of generational wealth now, when compared to previous generations, when those generations were millennials, age, they still obviously have, you know, affordability issues. But what we found is that even before the pandemic, when millennials started entering the housing market, they brought their values with them and they were willing to put their money where their mouth is.

00:14:07:04 - 00:14:39:16
Sara Gutterman: They were open to having smaller footprint homes that had sustainability upgrades, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, water conservation. Now more and more resiliency. Certainly connectivity, smart home technology, and intelligent living, systems. We see that there is a very high pull through of sustainability, demand, expectation features and therefore product specifications. You know, 83% consider energy efficient to be essential.

00:14:39:24 - 00:15:05:08
Sara Gutterman: 86% say that they are willing to pay more for sustainable features. And when we query our leading edge, early adopter and first mover consumers, that what they say they pay versus what they will actually pay, there's always a delta between those two things, but the delta really isn't that big. You know, it's around 80% in terms of, what they actually will.

00:15:05:08 - 00:15:46:21
Sara Gutterman: The people that will pay for those sustainability upgrades as opposed to just what they say that they will pay for. They certainly understand the difference between first cost and forecast. So they are looking for, reduction of ongoing operating costs, energy independent solar plus storage. And, you know, they, they definitely prefer and will put their money towards again, those smaller footprint, energy efficient homes that are smart and healthy and resilient over the larger homes, that have more flash when designing for millennials.

00:15:46:24 - 00:16:17:29
Sara Gutterman: You know, riff on the same idea, smaller footprint with smart space utilization. They really love storage. And I'm not talking battery storage. I'm talking very efficient storage. So they can put all their stuff in this, you know, the smaller footprint, even though they eschew having too much stuff. Just as a general categorization. You know, I think clearly millennials have, been, more interested in those missing middle housing formats because of affordability issues.

00:16:18:06 - 00:16:50:03
Sara Gutterman: That's changing a little bit. Again, as I said, as they evolve in their careers and they amass more equity and wealth, they're moving from, you know, starter homes to move up homes even into, you know, semi luxury and luxury homes at this point. But I think that, again, a holistic and integrated sustainability message around energy efficiency, electrification, wellness, resilience, technology that's purposeful, you know, that can help them control leak detection and water quality control, demand side energy management.

00:16:50:07 - 00:17:27:23
Sara Gutterman: Those are appealing to millennials. And again, we're seeing that they they will invest in those upgrades. And I think again they'll invest for those lower, ongoing operating costs, and insurance premiums. But they will also invest to reduce environmental impact because they have pulled their values into their decision making. Now, Gen Z, when we look at, home applications, mortgage applications and just applications in general, millennials are still in the, let's say mid 50%.

00:17:27:23 - 00:17:53:01
Sara Gutterman: So they're still, you know, they remain, the top influencers in the housing market, boomers and Xers, their home purchase applications are going down as they're largely in their forever homes. Gen Zs have really just hit the housing scene in the last handful of years, but we're starting to see their numbers again. I'm just looking, you know, kind of when we look at home purchase applications, they started at 2% and 5%.

00:17:53:08 - 00:18:17:10
Sara Gutterman: Now they're up a little bit over 10%. You know, pushing into the 15. And in the next year or two into the 20%. So between millennials and Zs, we're talking, you know, 60, 70, 75% of all home purchase applications. So very important to understand that these two generations, they have a lot of similarities, but then they also have a lot of differences.

00:18:17:13 - 00:18:55:28
Sara Gutterman: They are both a very values based, generation, Gen Z, whereas, you know, millennials, we said the millennials have about 2.4 trillion in spending power right now. Gen Z is only have about 360 billion, in spending power, given where they are in their careers. However, that is growing quickly as well, just as they evolve and as they, either take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities or, you know, just grow again in terms of becoming managers and upper managers and executives.

00:18:56:01 - 00:19:22:16
Sara Gutterman: Keep in mind, Gen Z, as their childhood was marked by two crippling recessions and a global pandemic. So this generation is largely known as sensible, debt averse, budget conscious. They're very focused on safety and security. Millennials, whereas they have this really robust sense of blended values. I like to call them some people call it people planet profit.

00:19:22:18 - 00:19:53:29
Sara Gutterman: You know, looking at, economic, social and environmental impact, Gen Z are very, very into social justice and equity. They march on the streets for what they believe in. And, again, they're very focused on equality and equity. We know that there's a very high level of interest in owning homes and, starting to generate, that equity and that individual and collective generational wealth.

00:19:54:01 - 00:20:23:21
Sara Gutterman: So about 80% of Gen Z want to own their own homes. However, we see that there's a chasm between what they think homes should cost and what they actually cost in reality. And we know that much like millennials, when they were Gen Z's age gen Zs two are burdened with student debt, credit card debt. You know, their incomes, relatively speaking, aren't that high given housing affordability and down payment requirements.

00:20:23:23 - 00:20:57:29
Sara Gutterman: So, you know, they really need these affordable entry points to build equity quickly. But to be clear, they're not willing to, give up their sustainability interests and demand they want they even take it further, right? They want net zero energy, water and carbon home. So they want, you know, all electric homes. We've done surveys, multiple surveys where 100% of our Gen Z audience tells us that they that they want to live in an all electric home, because to them, an all electric home is the equivalent of an electric vehicle, right?

00:20:57:29 - 00:21:17:14
Sara Gutterman: Why wouldn't you want one? Maybe it's a little bit more upfront, but, you know, net net, over the course of X amount of months or years, you're starting to make money, right away. You are, you know, mitigating or even eliminating your environmental impact. You know, there's equity for all there or justice for all I should say.

00:21:17:16 - 00:21:57:09
Sara Gutterman: They also believe that prefab and factory built or offsite construction, is the equivalent to quality control. And precision engineering. And they get that like something like installation. Installation is more accurate in a factory than on a jobsite. These are actually concepts that, this generation has, you know, kind of grown up with and accepted, prefab to a boomer might mean a Sears kit, or a modular, you know, like a mobile home, whereas that perception is very, very different for younger generations, particularly, Gen Zs.

00:21:57:11 - 00:22:26:05
Sara Gutterman: So when designing for Gen Zs, we know again, they need these entry level price points, but, we also need to provide them with some sustainability options. And so there's a little bit of a give and take there. Right. So, you know, there may be certain energy efficiency and intelligent living and healthy home options that are, you know, just the baseline, that can satisfy those, the expectations and needs without breaking the bank.

00:22:26:07 - 00:22:53:21
Sara Gutterman: I think here too, this is really where we need to start thinking about a concept I'm going to spend more time on in just a second, which is value per square foot, where we actually bring in some other stakeholders, whether it's lenders or utilities, to provide support so that we can build in some of these baseline expectations, for sustainability into these entry level homes.

00:22:53:21 - 00:23:18:13
Sara Gutterman: So hold that thought. I'll get a lot more, into this. Another thing to note, with respect to Gen Zs, is the fact that they want proof, they want transparency, they want environmental product declarations and certifications. They want to make sure that claims are valid for builders, for products, for communities themselves, they want to feel safe and secure.

00:23:18:15 - 00:23:57:10
Sara Gutterman: And so having that verification in that proof is really important for Gen Z's. All right. Let's talk about this emerging generation of gen alphas. This generation, they are going to start buying homes in the next 4 to 5 years. The oldest gen alphas will get into the housing market very quickly. That's like tomorrow. And so, keep in mind, their childhood, you know, again, was shaped by a pandemic, a massive advances in AI, economic volatility, political division, global instability.

00:23:57:12 - 00:24:40:25
Sara Gutterman: So, you know this we'll see, how that translates into housing, preferences. But kind of the emerging data, the early data shows us that, you know, they're going to really change the paradigm for what is expected within homes. We're going to see, much greater demand for AI powered operating systems, not just for, interaction and use, but for proactive maintenance, for effectively what I like to say, you know, taking the human error out of, the, our the home performance, whether that has to do with energy or indoor air quality or, you know, water, management.

00:24:40:28 - 00:25:07:25
Sara Gutterman: Another thing is, you know, this generation is taking the need and desire and expectation for, carbon neutrality, to the next level, looking for regenerative homes. And so now we're starting to see products that are moving to a regenerative forward, or let's say carbon net negative, forward message, whether that's, some siding materials that absorb carbon.

00:25:07:25 - 00:25:45:27
Sara Gutterman: We've seen this in the insulation space. We're starting to see, even smart thermostats offering carbon credits because programs that they have to actually automatically reduce energy use in homes, again, taking human error out of it so that, the occupants don't even have to interact with those, thermostats and kind of that network. And then of course, we're seeing, more advances in distributed energy resources, virtual power plans or distributed power plants, and demand side energy management, to make, that energy management even more sophisticated.

00:25:46:00 - 00:26:17:05
Sara Gutterman: But again, I think gen alphas are not only going to expect energy independence. You know, that optimization of management of systems through AI. But again, predictive maintenance through, you know, artificial reality and virtual reality, also using those technologies, to integrate, greater levels of interactive learning and working and just play, into their spaces.

00:26:17:06 - 00:26:46:21
Sara Gutterman: So, you know, kind of flexible shapeshifting spaces that are regenerative and very technology forward. So if one if you are one of those building professionals who kind of looks at AI with the same fear and fascination as you do, say, a boa constrictor, you're right to do that. There's a lot of questions right now about how I will impact everything our jobs, our lives, our energy, grids, our, water resource, our brains.

00:26:46:24 - 00:27:28:06
Sara Gutterman: But make no doubt about it, this is a generation that's going to pull demand for those advanced technologies AI, AR, VR, through into home. So if you haven't started, at least learning about it, it's probably time to do that. I think that with Gen alphas, if I had to summarize what they're looking for, it's kind of intelligent ecosystems, again, that are, data driven, ultra efficient, with the goal of regeneration, meaning, they're not just net zero energy or net zero carbon or net zero water, but they're actually giving back to the environment, materials again, as I said, that, absorb carbon.

00:27:28:08 - 00:27:55:04
Sara Gutterman: You know, homes and communities that actually generate more energy, than they use or that are able to have on site water, filtration systems that can actually return cleaner water to the ecosystem. Then, again then then the, then the, the communities actually use. So, there are some good case studies, in spots here and there across the country.

00:27:55:04 - 00:28:29:12
Sara Gutterman: But again, I think these are going to start becoming baseline expectations from this generation as they see, the climate continue to deteriorate, climate events continuing to intensify, and becoming more frequent. And I think that that, their this generation's interest in biophilia, in connection with nature, nature, integrated design, these things will advance substantially as they see, you know, the realities of, of the world around us.

00:28:29:14 - 00:29:11:12
Sara Gutterman: You know, and so when we look at kind of these generational values on a continuum, and something that I'd like to just pause and say, here is think about for a minute that the performance of the housing stock and what was available when boomers bought their first home versus when Xers and then millennials and then Zs, and then ultimately in a handful of years when households will build their or, excuse me, buy or build their first home, the housing stock itself, what is available, especially new construction, but even again, in certain cases, retrofit is dramatically different, as is the level of awareness.

00:29:11:12 - 00:29:41:00
Sara Gutterman: And so I think that, again, for any building professional, whether you're a builder, a developer, an architect, a designer, an energy rater, marketer, it's really important to understand where each of these generations came from, where they are today, and how housing is evolving based on that particular generation or this ecosystem of generations, in order to kind of pinpoint the messaging that's going to be the most effective for each generation.

00:29:41:00 - 00:30:08:04
Sara Gutterman: So, again, for boomers, you know, it's a lot about comfort, durability, cost savings, aging in place. Boomers really do. You know, they've owned enough homes. They've been in the housing market. They've generated enough generational equity to know that homes are a long term asset. And wealth builders, they are those identity anchors. And they want that predictability. Xers right now are really looking at functionality, ROI, risk management.

00:30:08:07 - 00:30:39:23
Sara Gutterman: They need these flexible homes that can support work and family and financial stability and that can, you know, optimize their lifestyle needs. Millennials, again, leading with total cost of homeownership and sustainability, is appropriate and valid for this generation. It was appropriate and valid when they first started entering the market, pulling through, this interest in, you know, long term operating costs, total cost and value of homeownership as opposed to just upfront cost.

00:30:39:25 - 00:31:04:29
Sara Gutterman: But I think right now, you know, millennials are really looking at homes, as a way to they want to optimize their homes to help with their cost control while simultaneously being able to express their values. Millennials have always kind of seen like solar and now solar plus storage as a bragging. Right. And so they do want that blended value scenario applied to their homes.

00:31:04:29 - 00:31:31:23
Sara Gutterman: Or they can, feel good about, you know, the social, environmental and economic aspects of their homes and how that, then manifests into their lives. But then again, they can also have that as a message that they can share with their family and their friends. Gen Zs. Again, obviously they need affordability upfront. They need performance to, tackle affordability over the long term.

00:31:31:25 - 00:32:05:26
Sara Gutterman: They need some creative support in terms of, signing, equity pathways. Whether again, that's creative mortgages or, you know, looking at, ways that that they can get lower insurance premiums. But effectively gen Z see their homes as security systems in a pretty unstable world. And, so they really need homes not just to help them build that generational wealth and protect the planet, but also to really protect them mentally and emotionally.

00:32:05:26 - 00:32:40:08
Sara Gutterman: Mental health, I think, as we all know, is top of mind for Gen Zs. And, you know, that's got to be built into their their homes, their sanctuary spaces. And again, with Alice's looking ahead, we are looking at with these regenerative systems, AI enabled intelligence, a big focus on homes that are adaptive and, can actually enhance themselves, to improve the lives of the occupants as well as, the just general environment.

00:32:40:11 - 00:33:07:00
Sara Gutterman: And, you know, this is a pretty aggressive housing demand timeline. I put this together just based on a lot of our cognition data, with respect to what our audience, what our readers tell us that they're looking for. I suspect, again, that that these dates here, you know, these might not be two year turnarounds. They might be more like 3 or 4 or even five year turnarounds for each phase.

00:33:07:03 - 00:33:31:01
Sara Gutterman: But, you know, this year into the next couple of years, millennials will continue to dominate, the housing market. We will see that increase in Gen Z influence. And so, you know, hunkering down and really focusing on energy efficiency, electrification, smart home technology, you know, wellness and resiliency as well, I think is smart for building professionals.

00:33:31:04 - 00:34:04:25
Sara Gutterman: We green Builder Media and a group of leading builders, developers, and other stakeholders are really pushing through this concept of value per square foot. I've mentioned it again. Hold that thought. I'm going to talk more about it in a second. We're going to start seeing that take hold. And we'll also see the rise of distributed energy resources, virtual power plants and distributed power plants that, again, hook into homes and communities and provide, first and foremost, greater energy independence for those homes and communities.

00:34:04:28 - 00:34:44:27
Sara Gutterman: They help to reduce grid stress. But then ultimately, what they can do is with demand side energy management capabilities, they can actually provide, revenue, or credit, utility bill credits to homeowners. So, all of a sudden energy is going to shift, from being kind of a one way communication from the utility to a home where they just drop off the energy, and a homeowner pays for that energy to something that is shared, that is distributed, that is optimized, during and, you know, before and after peak periods.

00:34:44:29 - 00:35:11:20
Sara Gutterman: But then actually there's, two way not just conversation with a house and the utility, but a two way, economic and financial scenario, again, where homeowners are only just paying for energy, but they're actually again, receiving either, credits on their bills or in some cases, actual revenue. As we move into the inflection point, we'll see.

00:35:11:22 - 00:35:57:11
Sara Gutterman: You know, Gen Zers, continue to influence the market, and Gen Alpha's entering the market, pulling through, some more of those preferences around those very, you know, kind of advanced leading edge technology systems, pre-fab, modular factory built homes and, you know, wall systems, moving from net zero energy to net zero carbon. We'll also see correspondingly, growth in net zero carbon code and requirements, so that net zero carbon isn't just a nice to have, but it's really, you know, again, a requirement like we're starting to see in places like, Sacramento and throughout California and in Massachusetts, a little bit later into 20, into the 2030s.

00:35:57:13 - 00:36:34:09
Sara Gutterman: You know, I think that we'll start seeing a shift in how homes are valued instead of just price per square foot. We're going to start looking at how well homes can withstand climate events, how they can manage operating costs, how they are able to, you know, optimize themselves through predictive maintenance, through automation, through, again, taking user, error or human error out of it and optimizing themselves through AI, and through these integrated ecosystems of intelligent technologies.

00:36:34:12 - 00:37:00:17
Sara Gutterman: We'll start seeing more and more of those community scale energy, water and mobility systems. And then more lending and appraisal and insurance, vehicles that have to do with sustainability, carbon and energy performance. And, you know, just a variety of, you know, different environmental product, different declarations and, you know, different kinds of sustainability criteria.

00:37:00:19 - 00:37:32:23
Sara Gutterman: And then as we shift into this regenerative era, this is really when Elsa's influence, you know, changes the, again, baseline expectations and demands for housing. We're going to start seeing requirements and, money spent by consumers on not just net zero carbon, but again, regenerative carbon, negative, nature integrated housing, that is, you know, designed and built for generational wealth creation, longevity.

00:37:32:23 - 00:37:59:11
Sara Gutterman: You know, and equity. Now, what we do know is that we are at the point of no return for sustainability demand. And I like to say that right now, we're in this kind of tale of two types of builders, one that is very focused on the fact that 2025 was a very hard year. And they basically pulled every single dollar out of every square foot that they built to reduce costs and increase profitability.

00:37:59:13 - 00:38:35:05
Sara Gutterman: And then we have a tale of a different kind of builder. And some of these are large builders like Sarkozy, House and Beazer and KB and some of them are the leading green midsize builders like Thrive Home Builders and Tim O'Brien homes. Some of them or, you know, smaller custom builders, but they are the builders that, that because the market was tight, they when they doubled down on sustainability, you know, Beazer as an example, you know, they doubled down on their commitment to, make all of their homes your energy ready certified.

00:38:35:08 - 00:38:57:19
Sara Gutterman: Although it's not called that anymore. There's a new name to that program, but, you know, energy efficient, electric, healthy, smart solar plus storage powered. We saw KB come up with these really cool case studies for resiliency. And, water and healthy homes. And what we know is that this is a one way road, right? So sustainability, we've gotten to the tipping point.

00:38:57:19 - 00:39:34:27
Sara Gutterman: We're past the tipping point. There is a recent study by Harvard that I like to reference that studied. Oh, not all, but, you know, a large portfolio of products, whether that's toothpaste or vehicles or homes. And basically their results came back to say at all price points in all categories of products that they, that they studied in every single instance, sustainability, whether that was reduce carbon footprint or nontoxic, materials and ingredient or organic sustainably harvested messaging.

00:39:34:27 - 00:40:19:18
Sara Gutterman: In all cases, sustainability drove greater consumer demand across all product types. And this is Harvard. This is not cognition. I do know that our cognition data shows us some of these proof points at the bottom here, where, you know, 70% of consumers consider sustainability a key factor in their purchasing decisions. For home, 75% say that they're more likely to purchase a product from a company with a strong sustainability practice over one without, and then skipping down to the bottom here, 80% of our consumer audience believe that a company's sustainability practices and the strength of those practices impact the quality of its products or service.

00:40:19:18 - 00:40:42:01
Sara Gutterman: So whether or not that's true, that's the perception. So that leads me to this concept of value per square foot, which I have alluded to. I have a whole session on this next week in Orlando, Design and construction week. So if any of you are attending, it's 9:00 Am, in the South Hall on Tuesday, February 17th.

00:40:42:04 - 00:41:13:06
Sara Gutterman: I'm going to drill down on this concept of value per square foot, but suffice for now, to say that price per square foot is no longer an adequate valuation metric for our housing. It was created after the savings and loan scandal, meltdown in the 80s when Wall Street entered the housing market and kind of commoditized housing, price per square foot was an easy, calculation.

00:41:13:06 - 00:41:42:07
Sara Gutterman: It fit very tidily into spreadsheets. And it created an apples to apples comparison to a housing stock that was relatively similar in terms of performance. However, since pawns, and communities have advanced so far from back then in terms of performance, health and wellness resiliency, water, management, solar plus storage, energy independence, all these things.

00:41:42:09 - 00:42:03:25
Sara Gutterman: We need a new valuation metric, like, because price per square foot isn't cutting it. So what we really need is this concept of value per square foot that incorporates decarbonization, energy, water, wellness, resilience, equity and community into that valuation metric. Because when we're just looking at price per square foot, we're not looking at total cost of homeownership.

00:42:03:25 - 00:42:39:16
Sara Gutterman: We're not looking at operating costs, utility bills, insurance premiums, maintenance fees. And so homeowners are actually burdened with greater costs. When we miscalculate using price per square foot. However, if we use value per square foot, which includes, again, energy performance and utility bills, it includes, calculations for insurance premiums. And it's just a better valuation metric then homeowners can actually understand that full value of homeownership.

00:42:39:16 - 00:43:08:14
Sara Gutterman: And while we see that consumers now incorporate valuation into home buying decisions, appraisals, mortgage underwriting, valuation models have clearly not kept pace. Now, this is not oh. We think this is true. We have many data points. I'm going to just show you a couple of cognition data points that corroborates the fact that consumers are not looking at, price per square foot and lowest upfront cost anymore.

00:43:08:17 - 00:43:33:12
Sara Gutterman: Here's one chart. It says exactly that across all of the four generations that we're studying boomers, Xers, millennials and Zs, every generation is now looking at long term value and ongoing operating costs more so even if it's slightly, but more so than upfront costs when they're making home buying decisions. That's a big flip from five years ago, when everybody was just looking at price per square foot.

00:43:33:15 - 00:44:00:25
Sara Gutterman: When we ask those generations, which represents their mindset when making home purchase decisions again, it's not that purple lowest upfront cost. It's the lowest long term cost and then highest comfort and well-being. In some cases, a little bit best investment potential and then improve quality of life. But again, all of those translate into value per square foot, not price per square foot.

00:44:00:27 - 00:44:24:19
Sara Gutterman: When we ask when comparing homes, what metric would be most useful, total monthly cost and full cost of homeownership and that value per square foot, including ongoing operating costs, those are very similar. It's hard to kind of differentiate those two. So our advice to builders is have that miles per gallon sticker in your homes. Show them what they're going to say.

00:44:24:20 - 00:44:52:07
Sara Gutterman: Show them what you know, even if they're paying a little bit more upfront where that payback payback period, you know, net out, and show them. Just show them the proof right there. Have that conversation. It's one that they're willing and wanting to have. We also know that, our, audience always or in some cases sometimes considers long term costs when buying and remodeling homes.

00:44:52:09 - 00:45:26:27
Sara Gutterman: We do know also that millennials and Gen Zs, will pay more for sustainability upgrades that lower their ongoing cost of homeownership when compared to Boomers and Xers across all categories. So energy efficiency, electrification, healthy home water, solar plus storage, smart home and resiliency. And we also know when we ask that, if, our consumer audience could lower their total monthly homeownership costs by 20%, where sustainability upgrades, how much would they be willing to pay?

00:45:26:27 - 00:45:52:09
Sara Gutterman: How much more would they willing to be willing to pay and, you know, generally it's in the 5%. Some say 10%. Some say they just pay the same amount. They just want the cost savings. So, you know, there is certainly some willingness to pay more. And then again, here, this is just that miles per gallon, sticker consumers do want, you know, 70% of boomers down to over 50% of Zs.

00:45:52:09 - 00:46:21:05
Sara Gutterman: They want to see that total cost break breakdown. That doesn't just reflect first cost, but, you know, they want to see utility bills, they want to see potential maintenance costs. They want to see insurance premiums when viewing home listings. Probably not surprising that, when we ask our audience, about their attitude about owning a new home, and when we when we say new home, it could be a newly constructed home or an existing home, but just new to them.

00:46:21:08 - 00:46:41:13
Sara Gutterman: Not surprising. Boomers and Xers largely say that they own a home and they're happy with it as is. That's been the case year over year for the past many years. And then millennials and Zs generally say that they would buy one today if they could afford one in a good neighborhood, or that they've taken themselves out of the market because there's just nothing that they can afford.

00:46:41:16 - 00:47:18:18
Sara Gutterman: So clearly affordability is an issue for these younger generations, particularly Gen Zs. And then given current economic conditions, again, boomers, Xers and millennials, are more likely to remodel their existing home, as opposed to, move. Although boomers are still looking to purchase smaller homes, or looking to move into less expensive, homes or neighborhoods, we see the younger generations also, you know, say that they would be, willing to purchase an existing house rather than a new one.

00:47:18:21 - 00:47:41:16
Sara Gutterman: Although the economic reality today is that in many cases, new homes are actually less expensive, than existing homes. Now, I want to shift into a perception of wellness, and I'm going to go through this pretty quickly just because, like usual, I'm running out of time, for boomers, wellness is about comfort and safety, thermal comfort, good lighting, accessibility and independence.

00:47:41:16 - 00:48:09:15
Sara Gutterman: All matter, for them and value increases when a home quietly supports aging well and provides peace of mind. For Gen Xers, wellness is about function and stress reduction. Their homes really have to work hard for them. They have to support those careers and caregiving and family life value grows when homes kind of reduce friction by improving indoor air quality and minimizing just maintenance.

00:48:09:15 - 00:48:48:24
Sara Gutterman: In general, wellness is performative and is practical to Xers. For millennials, wellness shifts to prevention and control. They connect indoor air quality, materials and energy use to long term well-being. And in their equation, value improves when at home, proactively prevents problems through, proactive indoor air quality systems, nontoxic materials and smart systems for Gen Z is they take the concept of wellness a little bit further, certainly more forward in terms of mental and emotional health and wellness, equating to protection and stability.

00:48:48:27 - 00:49:12:02
Sara Gutterman: Growing up in, you know, this kind of world of climate stress and pandemics and economic volatility, they do see their homes as sanctuaries. And so for them, value increases when health is verified. It's proven they want filtration. They want energy independence. You know, and they kind of want that whole concept, not just a physical health but a mental health.

00:49:12:02 - 00:49:42:17
Sara Gutterman: So they want some sanctuary spaces both inside and outside of their homes. Now, gen alphas are going to redefine the baseline yet again. Wellness will become regenerative and intelligent. Homes won't just support health. They'll enhance it again through those AI enabled environments. Adaptive systems and healthier materials. Value will be measured by how well homes, continuously optimize their well-being.

00:49:42:20 - 00:50:05:20
Sara Gutterman: We can see here, that, the concept of, physical health, is, you know, the most important will say to boomers, also very important to millennials and Zs, but mental and emotional health, particularly for, you know, Xers, millennials and Zs are right up there in terms of how they think about wellness and well-being. It's not just about physical health.

00:50:05:20 - 00:50:34:28
Sara Gutterman: You know, we used to equate a healthy home to indoor air quality, nontoxic materials, air filtration. But now we really do have to think of quiet stress reduction, connection with nature, etc.. We see a lot of that connection with nature pull through when we ask about the healthy home features that, home owners really cherish natural daylight, fresh air, you know, through operable windows.

00:50:35:01 - 00:51:02:08
Sara Gutterman: We look at, there's some water filtration, air filtration and IQ monitoring as well as a part of that. We also know that, poor indoor air quality and noise and temperature swings are the things that most negatively impact, indoor air quality and the sense of wellness in homes. And then there's a lot of, you know, colors and lines and words on here.

00:51:02:08 - 00:51:39:06
Sara Gutterman: But let me summarize it real quickly for you to simply say that, there's the hard stop, for buying homes across all generations. And that is generally if there's something that's stinky and or moldy, that's a hard stop. No. For them. And when we ask how much, home buyers, homeowners are willing to pay for healthy home and wellness features, it's generally, let's say, in the 1000 to up to 10,000, with 1 to 5000 and 5 to 10,000 actually being, you know, kind of the highest, responses.

00:51:39:08 - 00:52:09:09
Sara Gutterman: And, we do know that homeowners are incorporating smart thermostats, smart lighting, voice activated, a systems, into their homes. They're using, smart home technology for energy efficiency and indoor air quality and security, largely. And the younger the generation, the more critical they think that smart home technology is. Now, I want to talk a little bit about resiliency because wellness and resiliency are really those topped well.

00:52:09:09 - 00:52:41:29
Sara Gutterman: And affordability with that value per square foot. Those are the top three topics without a doubt. Across the board for our consumer audience. So, let me just go through this, you know, continuum of the resiliency perception. Baby boomers, they resiliency is about protecting their assets. So they tend to think of it in terms of discrete threat storms, wildfires, etc. they're motivated by solutions that offer a peace of mind and lower their insurance, insurance, and cost premiums.

00:52:42:02 - 00:53:08:18
Sara Gutterman: Gen Xers take a little bit more of an analytical view. For them. Resiliency is about ROI and risk management. You know, since they're balancing work, family and financing, they want upgrades that reduce risk exposure and make financial sense. Millennials, resiliency shifts from protection, to stability. You know, this generation, again has lived through economic and climate volatility.

00:53:08:25 - 00:53:38:13
Sara Gutterman: So they're thinking in terms of that total cost of ownership. And they are willing to invest more upfront, especially for bundled solutions. They like bundled solutions like so storage solar impact resistance. Especially when you know, it's proven that it can lower, maintenance costs. Monthly costs, etc.. Gen Z sees resiliency as security. Now their perception of risk is broader and more overlapping.

00:53:38:13 - 00:54:00:25
Sara Gutterman: It's climate, it's infrastructure, it's health and health care. But they really want that proof they are willing to invest. But when the value is transparent, when the data is clear, and then of course, when the barrier is lowered through financing or incentives and gen, looking ahead again, we'll change the conversation with respect to resiliency.

00:54:00:27 - 00:54:29:15
Sara Gutterman: For them, resiliency won't be an upgrade. It will really be a baseline. And they will expect homes to be resilient by default, with intelligent systems that monitor and adapt and protect them automatically. We know that a lot of existing homeowners have made upgrades to things like upgraded roofing, backup power generators and battery storage. Some, you know, storm proof, impact rated windows, etc..

00:54:29:18 - 00:55:03:19
Sara Gutterman: We also know that the biggest, the biggest factor preventing homeowners from investing in resiliency upgrades, probably not surprisingly, is upfront cost or just uncertainty about ROI and payback. We do also know that if, consumers could access lower, assuring that they were assured that they could access lower insurance premiums, and also, rebates, whether that's at a utility, a municipality state, probably not federal rebates at this point, that would incentivize them.

00:55:03:19 - 00:55:32:19
Sara Gutterman: So we're kind of encouraging building professionals to engage other stakeholders, whether that is insurers or utilities or municipalities, to have a discussion about what incentives and premiums and rebates can be offered. So that the cost burden is shifted from the homeowner or home buyer and the builder to some of these other stakeholders, so that there can be a shared burden to solve for affordability and resiliency.

00:55:32:21 - 00:56:02:10
Sara Gutterman: And again, here we also see that, you know, the willingness to invest in resiliency upgrades, you know, somewhere from nothing to 5000. And then really, the highest answer, net out is, you know, from 5 to 10,000 in terms of what they pay for resiliency upgrades. So, you know, the challenge and the opportunity for builders and building professionals is that you're selling one product, one home, but you've got five lenses for each of these different generations.

00:56:02:12 - 00:56:23:10
Sara Gutterman: And yes, I'm including gen alphas. And so it's really important to understand, you know, kind of the, the, the, the important sets of values and talking points. That should be used. This is I'm getting close to the end here. I know I'm coming up to my time. I've. I've only got a couple more minutes, so bear with me here.

00:56:23:10 - 00:56:56:03
Sara Gutterman: But, you know, in general, when we talk about generational marketing strategies in previous years, I've, you know, shown the data and I've shown these trends in terms of how each generation is evolving and their thinking about home. But more and more now I'm having conversations with, you know, again, builders, developers, manufacturers, other building professionals, or they're, you know, subscribing to Cognition Smart Data to get insights about how they can be more effective in their generational marketing strategies.

00:56:56:03 - 00:57:28:01
Sara Gutterman: And, you know, just as a summary of those conversations and and what I'm telling them is one lead with value, you know, price per square foot just simply isn't enough anymore. And stop selling what homes have really start selling what they do and how they can improve lives. That goes for products as well. For manufacturers. You know, sustainability, wellness and resiliency are great concepts, but go ahead and tie them into financial stability and well-being and health and risk reduction, because those are all things that are of paramount importance right now to consumers.

00:57:28:01 - 00:58:03:25
Sara Gutterman: And then, you know, I always try to tie it back to the lived experience. We also know that affordability, you know, you're not going to get a more affordable home, just by cutting the price per, you know, the cost per square foot, the builders that are just continuing to pursue the price per square foot valuation and cutting costs alone are honestly there just in this, you know, very, ineffective, inefficient, ultimately destructive race to the bottom.

00:58:03:27 - 00:58:33:26
Sara Gutterman: Those that are, bringing value into their homes and solving for affordability, as a systems outcome, looking at ongoing operating costs, looking at health and wellness, looking at risk reduction and looking at long term performance and durability, looking at the fact that affordability doesn't mean cheaper. It means more stable, more efficient, less risky over time are the ones that, as the market picks up and, you know, 2026 and beyond are going to be the winners.

00:58:33:28 - 00:59:12:23
Sara Gutterman: We also, you know, really need we know now we've got to match, messaging with motivation and then something that's like this huge. So a lot of the builders that we talk with is advice that we need to plan for the future buyer, not the last one. While boomers are still buying homes and downsizing and they're active in the housing market, they're not the buyers that we should be designing and building homes for homes and communities today should be looking at millennials, Zs and alphas, to fit their needs because even if boomers are the first home buyer, they're not going to be the second, third, fourth and fifth home owners.

00:59:12:23 - 00:59:42:04
Sara Gutterman: And by, you know, planning for, future generations, we are actually able to reduce, friction. But then also by looking at that value per square foot proposition, where we are bringing in lenders who can, think more creatively about mortgages that can incorporate energy efficiency and electrification and, solar plus storage and resiliency upgrades into those mortgage mortgages.

00:59:42:04 - 01:00:08:20
Sara Gutterman: If we are asking and demanding green appraisals, by the way, builders, those do exist and you absolutely need to ask for them, so that we can actually get the valuation of those homes correct on the front end so that they can be valued properly, they can be lent against properly. All of those things will be more value and and valuable and create that generational wealth, for those future buyers.

01:00:08:22 - 01:00:32:05
Sara Gutterman: Now, finally, when we look at 2026 housing market projections, we do see some relief in sight. Again, it's been a tough market. Certainly the last year, you know, was a tight market mostly just because of uncertainty. We do anticipate that in 2026, home prices are going to rise modestly around 4%. Mortgage rates will stay around 6%.

01:00:32:07 - 01:00:58:27
Sara Gutterman: Inventory is going to open up. As that lock in effect eases. We're going to see pent up demand, you know, kind of driving more sales activity both in the new and existing home space. Sales volumes, are anticipated to increase. With that said, affordability will continue to be a concern. However, the typical share of income spent on housing is expected to fall below 30% for the first time since 2022.

01:00:59:00 - 01:01:33:28
Sara Gutterman: But, first time homebuyers again, they're struggling. The sales in the you know, 750,000 to $1 million price range have seen some of the largest gains, whereas, you know, those entry level, even workforce housing level, price points, though that inventory remains constrained. So, fortunately, we're seeing more builders get creative in terms of townhomes or multifamily homes and, you know, different types of housing units, to reach those price points, some dynamics to watch.

01:01:34:00 - 01:02:03:11
Sara Gutterman: Certainly we're going to see an increase in energy independence, as we see energy prices skyrocket, mostly because of the growth of AI, and AI data center demand for energy. That also data centers actually also demand a huge amount of water, 7 trillion gallons of water per year per data center on average. We're seeing diminishing trust in the grid, and increasing demand for energy independence.

01:02:03:14 - 01:02:29:06
Sara Gutterman: And then, as I mentioned earlier, a couple times, the rise of EP's and distributed energy resources, we will absolutely see that growth in value per square foot as we see kind of this ongoing interest or obsession with reducing and controlling operational costs, demanding health and wellness as a baseline, increased verification and transparency, decarbonization regulations and mandates.

01:02:29:08 - 01:02:54:21
Sara Gutterman: And then, you know, multi-stakeholder engagement in solving for affordability challenges, again, so we can bring in insurers and lenders and utilities and to help builders and home owners, home buyers solve for their affordability challenges. And then we're also going to see this growing divergence. And well, so we're seeing these k curve discrepancies where the rich are getting richer.

01:02:54:21 - 01:03:20:09
Sara Gutterman: And you know, middle class and lower class are really struggling. And, you know, first time home buyers are struggling, you know, to get into homes. Those who have housing and equity are building credit, credit, you know, credit just in general. And you know, what I like to say is that drastic times call for dramatic leadership. So if you take nothing else from this webinar, take this.

01:03:20:09 - 01:03:51:23
Sara Gutterman: And this is my closing salvo. When people feel economically squeezed, they don't just adjust their budgets, they lose confidence. And when confidence erodes, behavior changes. And so we've seen, for one example, the rise of what's called the prediction economy, that's, you know, kind of, gambling, sports betting, investing on speculative things, you know, betting on unlikely outcomes as people search for a shortcut out of financial pressure.

01:03:51:23 - 01:04:27:19
Sara Gutterman: But, you know, hope built on chance is very fragile. And, you know, we're living in this culture that feels increasingly polarized and disconnected. Social media has replaced porches and sidewalks. Convenience has replaced community. My grandparents, they knew every single one of their neighbors on their block. I remember visiting them when I was a little girl, and they'd go around and we talk with all their neighbors, and they were so proud to just, you know, have me, you know, show me off and introduce me to their friends and neighbors if they needed a ride or if they needed a cup of sugar, they'd ask one of their neighbors.

01:04:27:19 - 01:04:52:12
Sara Gutterman: But now you know, we want food. We have Uber, if we want a ride, we have it on demand. Everything is one click away. There's an app for everything. It's efficient, yes, but it's also isolating. And so that brings me to the the point I want to make in the concept of home. A home is supposed to offer safety and security and sanctuary, not just from the elements.

01:04:52:15 - 01:05:19:16
Sara Gutterman: Not just, you know, a shelter from the elements, but a nurturing environment that strengthens physical and mental and emotional well-being. A place where children can grow, families can stabilize, and generational wealth is built. And if we deliver the cheapest possible homes just built to code, just legal, not durable, not healthy, not cost effective to maintain, we are not solving for affordability.

01:05:19:16 - 01:05:47:03
Sara Gutterman: We are not providing value. We are compounding stress. We are locking families into higher long term costs and greater risks and diminished quality of life. And in that scenario, we are a part of the problem. But if we deliver sustainable, high performance, healthy, resilient, energy efficient homes, if we deliver true value, then we're offering something that's far more powerful than square footage.

01:05:47:06 - 01:06:25:17
Sara Gutterman: We're offering hope. Hope that stability is possible and hope that someone is paying attention. Hope that value and values can actually align. And as building professionals, that's not just a market opportunity. It's really a responsibility, perhaps even an honor. And we have the ability to shape environments that restore confidence and rebuild trust. So the question really becomes simple do we want to become, let's say, unintentional villains or bystanders, or do I want to be heroes?

01:06:25:19 - 01:06:42:27
Sara Gutterman: Do we want to contribute to eroding hope, or do we want to help build it? I don't know about you, but I want to be a hero. So join me. Let's be heroes together. I think we're out of time for questions. So if you do have any questions, please just shoot me an email. You can see my email address here.

01:06:43:00 - 01:07:05:23
Sara Gutterman: Thanks. All of you. Thanks to all of you. Especially those of you who stuck around as I went over time. Thank you also to NV Energy Pro VR and whirlpool, for your generous contribution to our work. It's a pleasure to work with leading manufacturers who aren't just supporting our work, but really doing great sustainability work on their own.

01:07:05:26 - 01:07:39:09
Sara Gutterman: And and thanks again just to everyone for, for being interested in, you know, understanding what individuals want in today's environment. I think it's really important, not just that we, understand how to sell them things in the right way, but really understand how we can relate to them and provide them, what what they need to engender that hope.

01:07:39:11 - 01:07:58:29
Mike Collignon: All right. Thank you. Sarah. Like she said, thank you very much to our sponsors, also to our audience for attending today and asking those questions. And we will get those questions to Sarah so that she can get back to you. Or you can, like I said, email her directly. We will be back in three weeks time.

01:07:59:00 - 01:08:28:25
Mike Collignon: That's March 4th on your calendar. We'll be talking about solar plus storage, distributed energy resources, virtual power plants, and energy independence with Jim Westover and Cameron Stewart of Solar Edge Technologies. That webinar will start at our usual time of 2 p.m. eastern. Stay tuned to your inbox for registration information. Until next time, have a Happy Valentine's Day, and don't forget to enter the Green Building Media contest, because February is Chocolate Month and they're giving away three packs of ritual chocolate.

01:08:28:25 - 01:08:44:03
Mike Collignon: So this is sustainably harvested and manufactured chocolate so you can eat it guilt free. Mary is going to place the link in the chat for you to enter. And for those who are going to design a construction week, have safe travels and a productive time in Orlando. Take care everyone and so long.