Green is the New Black

The housing industry hasn’t developed a reliable way of breaking down green versus conventional homes sales figures. But its clearly a hot button issue and will even become more important, perhaps mandatory, as we begin to seriously deal with global warming.

What Others are Saying….

Developers
“Those builders are seeing that they’ll get more buyers coming to their developments when they have solar. They sell like hot cakes,” Bernadette del Chiaro, an energy specialist at the advocacy group Environment California, told the Los Angeles Times. The Times also quoted Julie Blumden, a vice president at San Jose-based solar tile maker SunPower Corp., as pointing out that the increase in sales velocity is actually paying for the solar systems.

MLS
At least one MLS listing service is updating its database to allow for property searches based on a range of green features.

National Association of Realtors®
According to a recent NAR survey, 90 percent of recent home buyers thought energy efficiency was a very important consideration when searching for a home, and the demand for green buildings and environmentally sensitive home features is growing.

HomeGain
Arbor National Mortgage & American Forests notes that 83% of Realtors believe that mature trees have a ’strong or moderate impact’ on the saleability of homes listed for under $150,000; on homes over $250,000, this perception increases to 98%. This survey is supported by observations from the USDA Forest Service: mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property’s value. Continue reading this post

Part of being “green” means making some thoughtful decisions.  As an EcoBroker, I find that clients often say they want to be green because they have a romanticized view of what this entails, aptly named greenwashing.

The reality is that they are usually not sure what it really means.  In many cases, they find that going GREEN can mean giving up some of their high style options.  As their Realtor, my job is to help them find the satisfaction in choosing the long term benefits of going GREEN.

My basic rules of ecofriendly real estate include:

• Renovating an existing property is always greener than new construction (even if it is in a green community with an energy star rating).  Anytime new land is cleared, the environment and all the flora and fauna are decimated.
• Local materials should be selected whenever possible.  Transporting building materials can add up to a huge carbon footprint.
• Energy saving features should take priority in the budget.  Investing in a long term benefit of reduced energy consumption is good for the buyer and the planet.
• Water conservation should be part of the landscaping plan.  Drought tolerant lawns and plant materials are also easier to care for.  Native plants are always a good option.  Placing plants in the optimal conditions will also reduce the need for watering.
• Explore all tax credits, state and federal, to know the bottom line.  The Obama administration has implemented serious incentives for upgrading hvac, windows, and insulation and other energy saving products.
• Find a lender who can provide a “green” mortgage product.  Many of these loans will permit a higher amount to be borrowed provided it will go toward energy saving improvements.

Continue reading this post

Since we launched the HomeGain Green Real Estate Campaign last month, I’ve been working with (and learning from) Realtors who are Greening their business and marketing green homes, including Jeffrey Bastress of StartPoint Realty in MA — who, by the way, did an amazing webinar for us in April in anticipation of Earth Day.

The word is out on Green Real Estate. More people are becoming green conscious and, for the sake of business, as Realtors, it may be in our best interest to be able to work with home buyers and sellers who have the environment in mind, even if being Green doesn’t inspire you personally.

One particular blog post I’ve read recently is on Y.I.M.S Blog and it says:“Going Green is not just a buzzword but a movement that is being forged in the forefront of consumer’s minds, as more and more Americans think greener about their purchasing decisions.” He hits it on the nose. Green is starting to influence how consumers purchase real estate. It’s already having an impact on many of us in real estate.

Being able to effectively market green homes to sell for your homeowners or to help home buyers find homes that fit their Green criteria may take some preparation. If you aren’t Green designated, you might want to consider getting that under your belt. It doesn’t take long to complete the course (whichever one you choose) and it’s certainly affordable.

For now, however, to get you started about thinking about going Green, here are…

5 GREEN tips for Realtors®:

Continue reading this post

We’re right at the tip of the iceberg with the Green movement. Greening our real estate practice is not just about being Green ourselves but also understanding where the consumer is coming from so we can better help them. Most home buyers I work with are concerned about some element of Green to some degree or another, but all agree with being more energy efficient.

At Startpoint Realty we are becoming a more eco minded firm — receiving our Green designations, working in virtual offices, sending green trees as closing gifts -– while at the same time going Green can mean looking at new ways of saving money, which we are all doing already in this weakened economy. 

Any level of education we as Realtors can add to our profession gives us a competitive edge when working with buyers and sellers. We don’t have to be experts on Green building or everything Green, but we can certainly be ambassadors and become resources of Green.

I prepared a “Greening Your Real Estate Practice” PowerPoint webinar for HomeGain, which has simple but effective tips on what we can do as professionals, getting more involved in our communities and inexpensive ways we can be more of what consumers are expecting from us.  

Listen to the GREEN WEBINAR and hear about what you can do (and why) for making your business more Green.

Visit  StartPoint Realty website to see how we use virtual offices and transaction platforms and my personal site www.HomesByJeffrey.com as a Green resource and Green marketing ideas.

Also visit the HomeGain Green Real Estate site to get more tips.

Jeffrey Bastress, GREEN certified NAR instructor