By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Some recent studies suggest that green homes sell faster and for higher dollar than their non-energy saving counterparts. For example, in Seattle, new homes certified green (such as from the government’s Energy Star or U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED) sold for 22 percent more per square foot and spent 12 percent less time on the market, according to the ECert report by GreenWorks Realty in Seattle, which analyzed data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service of new homes sold from September 2007 to February 2010. (Green homes made up 6 percent of the market.)
Similar results were found in a separate study of “green” certified homes in Portland. New homes in that region sold for 18 percent more while existing-homes with a certification sold for 23 percent more compared to non-green homes, according to Earth Advantage Institute, which pulled data from the Portland area Regional Multiple Listing Service of homes sold from 2009 to 2010.
While more buyers are expressing an interest in “green” energy efficient materials in homes, they’re finding that going “green” can be expensive. For example, solar water heating systems can cost between $1,500 to $3,500 and solar panels upwards to $15,000. (It’s important to note that cheaper “green” alternatives for your home exist that can still offer savings to your utility bills, such as changing out your light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs can reduce electricity costs.)
Some home owners or buyers are turning to Energy Efficient Mortgages or EEMs to curtail the costs of installing green features. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Spread the word to your sellers and clients: Time is ticking to complete home renovation projects if they want to cash in on a tax deduction that expires at the end of the year. Tax credits are available for home owners who do upgrades that help them save energy and reduce their utility bills such as with more energy-efficient windows and doors, insulation, and heating and cooling equipment.
You can qualify for up to $1,500 in tax credits when filing 2010 income tax returns. Home owner have until Dec. 31 to qualify for the tax credit.
Home owners can take advantage of the tax credit (Internal Revenue Code Section 25C) for efficiency upgrades made to existing homes, such as for certain types of insulation, windows, roofs, water heaters, heat pumps, furnaces and air conditioners. Tax credits are available for 30 percent of the cost up to $1,500 for 2009 and 2010.
Red alert! The sellers have an unsightly mold problem. Give them the dirt on whether they can eliminate it themselves or need to hire a pro. Share the free November “Get Rid of Mold: DIY or Hire a Pro?” article from the November “Indoor Air Quality: VOCs & Mold” theme now available at the REALTOR® Content Resource. Here’s some of the insight:
Everyday solutions. If you can see it, you probably can get rid of it with a little elbow grease, soap, and water. More stubborn forms usually succumb to a solution of 1:9 bleach-to-water.
Problem mold. If you find spores growing on drywall, studs, and subflooring—especially if the area exceeds 10 square feet—you’ve got a bona fide mold problem. Don’t bother buying a hardware store petri-dish kit, which claims to help identify airborne mold: It doesn’t. Your best bet is an independent consultant with credentials. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
‘Tis the season to decorate. I was overwhelmed at the response from Styled, Staged & Sold readers who submitted ideas for tasteful holiday staging when trying to sell a home.
You can read all of the great holiday decorating tips from your peers at REALTOR® Magazine online — Add Some Holiday Charm to Your Listings.
One important item that wasn’t touched on in the article is how much religious decor should (or should not) be displayed in your holiday decorations. What do you think? Do you think it’s OK to have mini holiday displays of your sellers’ faith out when trying to sell a home? Do you really need to tell your seller that their Hanukkah menorah or nativity scene needs to be put away?
Plus, will such displays really offend a buyer — aren’t they there to view a house, after all, not evaluate the decorations?
Chime in with your thoughts and take our poll below.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
The plant that is used to make marijuana is finding a new purpose: A sustainable building material.
Homes are being built that have thick hemp walls in Asheville, N.C., and more are in the works, the USA Today reports (Hemp Homes Are Cutting Edge of Green Building by Wendy Kochs) . The plant fiber has been used in Europe for the past two decades but has been slower to catch on in the United States since industrial hemp has to be imported because it cannot be grown legally here. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
The McMansion brought about oversized furniture to fill those expanded spaces, but now that spaces are shrinking, why hasn’t our furniture too?
One expert offers up one reason why our furniture hasn’t scaled back — Americans are too fat. Apparently plus-sized furniture is needed to fit our growing waist lines, even as our home’s square footage gets smaller.
“People are just bigger,” Tom Fisher, dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, told Minneapolis Star-Tribune in the article Living (not so) Large by Kim Palmer. ”Americans are getting fatter as houses get smaller, and this is a problem. It makes a house seem smaller than it is. It’s two trends going in opposite directions.”
Bigger furniture for larger people is a growing market. Companies such as Oversize Furniture.com and Living XL have emerged specifically to target the plus-sized customer with wider chairs and furnishings, all with extra support.
U.S. armchairs are generally 20-26 inches in width — too small for many customers nowadays. Let’s face it, we’re an obese nation. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are overweight and nearly 34 percent qualify as obese, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. At Oversize Furniture.com, you can purchase a chair 34 to 44 inches in width. Continue reading »
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