Homebuyers Can Breathe Easier with These Healthy Homes

At the same time that more Americans have been working from home, the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened their concerns about their health and well-being. Together, those two realities mean people increasingly want to know if their homes are helping to keep them healthy—or not. Over a quarter of Fortune 500 CEOs believe at least 10 percent of their workforce will never return to the workplace. And three-quarters of CFOs say at least 5 percent of their employees who used to work on site will remain remote. With that new normal, many Americans have turned their attention to the healthiness of the places where they both live and work—in particular, their homes’ indoor air quality (IAQ).

Before the pandemic, 72 percent of Americans believed their homes had a moderate to strong impact on their health, according to a 2019 Shelton Group survey of 2,000 Americans. During the pandemic, people’s interest in the relationship between their homes and their health has only grown. Now, 18 percent of us are more concerned about IAQ than before the pandemic, the Shelton Group finds. More broadly, 57 percent are more concerned about health and well-being than before.

What is a “Healthy Home”?

But while buyers have a greater enthusiasm for IAQ and healthy home features, they don’t have a firm grasp on exactly what that might mean—whether it’s special filters or cleaning products or anything else.

“The challenge is people don’t yet know what they want to purchase,” says Suzanne Shelton , president and CEO, Shelton Group, a Knoxville, Tennessee–based marketing communications firm that focuses on sustainability and the environment. “That’s a problem, but it’s also an opportunity for the builder to bring the consumer along.”

That opportunity is especially strong among what Shelton calls “healthy home believers”: about 25 percent of the population that is particularly interested in healthy homes. This subset might include, for instance, families with children struggling with severe asthma.

“Most buyers don’t care that much about air, but the ones that do are adamant about it,” says Dennis Webb, vice president, Fulton Homes, Phoenix, Arizona.

One way that builders can improve their homes’ IAQ—and communicate that benefit to their buyers—is by participating in the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS program. Launched in 2009, the Indoor airPLUS program requires certain construction practices and product specifications to minimize exposure to airborne pollutants and contaminants. For instance, Indoor airPLUS–certified homes must be protected from moisture, mold and combustion gases, and they must supply fresh air, which has become critical as new homes have gotten tighter and more sealed off from the outside.

Thrive Home Builders has built every home in compliance with the Indoor airPLUS program since 2013. But the Denver builder also exceeds the minimal requirements, according to Bill Rectanus, Thrive’s vice president of operations. For example, Thrive’s homes provide a more thorough radon-prevention system, as well as a ventilation system that continuously brings in and filters the same amount of fresh outside air as the amount of stale air it expels.

This summer, Thrive began providing healthy home option packages that improve IAQ, with features such as a humidifier, HEPA-filter air purifier and a Bluetooth-connected radon sensor. The packages also go beyond IAQ, with offerings such as a water-filtration system, WiFi-connected touchless faucets, and self-cleaning toilets and bidets. Thrive offers two healthy home packages, one for $4,500 and the other for about $8,000, depending on the options included.

“We don’t make IAQ a feature—we make it part of our brand and every house we deliver,” says Rectanus. “But in light of COVID-19, we took a new step and looked at health more holistically, not just indoor air quality.”

In addition to offering better IAQ and healthy home features, builders have to communicate their benefits. One way Fulton Homes does that is by putting both its logo and the Indoor airPLUS logo on the plastic sealing that the EPA program requires for register boxes during construction to keep debris from entering the ducts. “The logos draw people’s attention to the fact that this house is different than the one across the street,” Webb says.

Fulton Homes, which has been a certified Indoor airPLUS member since 2014, makes that certification a big part of its marketing campaigns, highlighting it in email blasts and TV and radio ads. The designation helps distinguish Fulton, as an independent builder, from its larger, national competitors.

Are Healthy Homes COVID-19-Free?

But while COVID-19 has shined a light on the importance of IAQ and healthy homes, builders have to steer clear of making false claims, Shelton cautions. Homes with better IAQ and healthy features do not, in themselves, keep their residents from contracting the coronavirus. Even a home with the best IAQ cannot control for how its inhabitants live—like whether or not they vacuum frequently.

“Health claims are really hard to make, so communicate the benefits, like having peace of mind, without getting into specific promises,” Shelton says.

Both Fulton and Thrive are careful not to suggest to buyers that improved IAQ and other healthy home features will keep the coronavirus at bay. Fulton, for example, uses door hardware with Microban to fend off bacteria but doesn’t suggest it will prevent viral infection.

“As far as COVID-19 goes, we have to be really careful we don’t make any promises that are not accurate,” Webb says.