Two new home builders who specialize in environmentally friendly homes have joined Oshara Village and are setting "the highest standard for green homes in the nation," said Alan Hoffman of Oshara Village, a 450-acre new-urban community near Santa Fe Community College.

"They prove that energy-efficient homes do not have to cost more than code-built houses and can offer aesthetic excellence at the same time," Hoffman said.

Dennis Niedermier of Renaissance Builders has built homes in Oshara Village and Aldea de Santa Fe, both Santa Fe developments.

Niedermier's first green home will be completed in September and is certified Build Green New Mexico Gold. It will save about 50 percent on utility bills and comes standard with solar hot water and energy-efficient lighting and appliances.

The home will be priced in the mid-$200,000 range.

Artistic Homes, one of the largest green-home builders in the U.S., is based in Albuquerque. The business is owned by brothers Jerry and Tom Wade.

"The (two) homes under construction in Oshara Village are energy efficient and include HEPA filtration standard, which reduces the effect of allergies," Hoffman said.

The homes are certified LEED Gold and offer a platinum upgrade, which means a utility bill of about zero, he added. The homes also will be priced in the mid-$200,000 range.

With those prices, "we can compete with Centex and (the builder) at Rancho Viejo, Hoffman said. "This is going to shake up the market."

Artistic Homes has built 13,000 homes in New Mexico and is the largest New Mexico home builder, said Randy Campbell of Campbell and Campbell Real Estate Services.

Artistic Homes has purchased or has options to purchase 32 lots at Oshara Village.

The recession did slow down builders, including Artistic Homes, Campbell said, and that gave Jerry Wade the opportunity to consider building more energy-efficient homes.

Wade also managed to keep the prices on homes he did build stable, meaning he didn't have to make "huge price adjustments" as other builders did, Campbell said. "People knew they were buying a good product for a fair price."

The two Artistic Homes under construction are both intended as model homes, although one of the homes may already have found a buyer.

"We haven't started marketing them up here yet," Campbell said

The two houses being built by Artistic Homes will be finished by late September, Hoffman said.

Each of the floor plans contains what is called "a sacred area" in Santa Fe and a private patio in Albuquerque and elsewhere, Campbell said with a laugh. "That's what I've been told."

All the homes will be energy efficient, with a focus on indoor air quality, with each featuring a whole-house air filtration system with a HEPA filter.

Artistic Homes also offers high-efficiency forced-air gas furnaces or an air-source heat pump.

"We're not doing radiant floor heating," he said. "Central air is more efficient and works better with our product."

Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.