GUILFORD COUNTY
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GUILFORD COUNTY
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Guilford County - which includes the urban cities of Greensboro and High Point - is a rapidly growing urban area that is very attractive to potential home buyers by choice or by corporate relocation. The average price of residential properties sold during 1998 was $150,000 for single family detached housing, Housing starts continue to rise with 8,295 new and resale single family homes, condominiums, and townhouses for 1999 thus far.
There is an increasing number of potential home buyers who need to be educated on buying or building a home; financial options; consumer choices and decisions to be made; home care and maintenance; and achieving and maintaining a high level of health and safety within their home. Families, individuals, and special needs groups are provided knowledge on how to make these informed decisions in securing and maintaining affordable housing that meets their changing needs.
Indoor air quality, water quality, disposal of household hazardous waste, and recycling of materials are issues that need to be addressed within the housing arena. Individuals and families can be assured a healthier living environment by adopting home safety practices and becoming aware of potential problems.
Household pest problems plague ALL homeowners and emphasis on reduced pesticide use as well as sanitation measures is a priority for homeowners.
IPM (Integrated Pest Management) methods are being incorporated to solve household and vertebrate pest problems within the home.
With the International Home Furnishings Market located in High Point, consumers in Guilford County are exposed to many choices with regards to the interiors of their homes nationally, consumers spent $58 billion on their furniture last year inorder to achieve a high level of satisfaction and longevity of the product they have selected.
An increasingly number of alternative waste disposal systems are being installed for homeowners who have little or no knowledge about the operation and maintenance of these systems. Education is critical from an environmental as well as a quality of life standpoint.
Green building practices for home and communites will make the houses and neighborhoods that we build today have a positive impact on the environment and society tomorrow. Green building issues range from passive and active solar energy building options to conservation of our natural resources. Green building is about creating a quality, healthy, more enjoyable environment through better decision making.
Housing issues affect every Guilford County citizen. The ideas, solutions, technologies, and products that make the houses and neighborhoods that we build today have a positive impact on the environment and society of tomorrow of upmost priority.
With two of the state's largest cities (Greensboro and High Point), Guilford County is at the center of the Triad's rapidly growing metropolitan region. Established as a "solar community" in 1990, the second area to receive this designation in North Carolina, Guilford County has sponsored numerous conferences, workshops, seminars, tours and training sessions to help educate both its citizens and professionals on the value of solar energy. Coodinated by and chaired by the Guilford County Office of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, the Guilford Solar Communities Program sponsored a consumer training workshop on solar home building, presented an exhibit for builders and the public on solar applications, and established a solar resource center at Greensboro's downtown public library in 1999. The group is planning a major outreach program to schools and contractors beginning in 2000. For more information on housing trends and issues for Guilford County, and upcoming workshops, contact Brenda Morris, Family and Consumer Educator at Brenda_Morris@ncsu.edu.
Also visit the following websites:
NCCES Family &
Consumer Sciences Homepage
HouseNet
DoItYourself
N.C. Solar Center
Dated Created 7/9/96
Last Revised 3/13/02