By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine
More studies are showing the power of green on boosting sales prices. In the most recent study, University of California researchers found that green-certified, single-family homes sold for $34,800 more — or 9 percent more — than comparable non-green certified homes.
Researchers analyzed 1.6 million home sales from 2007 to 2012 to determine if “green” really helped homes net more at times of resale.
The researchers called the findings the “Prius effect,” since the California cities that had the highest sales prices of green homes also were in places that had the highest sales of electric vehicles.
“We observed a phenomenon we’ve termed the ‘Prius effect’ — a positive correlation between the value of green home labels and environmental ideology, as measured by the rate of hybrid registrations,” co-author Nils Kok, visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told USA Today. Such residents may view green homes as “a point of pride or status symbol,” Kok added.
Previous studies that focused on home sales in Seattle and Portland, Ore., also found that “green” homes sell for higher dollar–as well as stay on the market a fewer number of days. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine
About 130 million homes were built prior to energy codes and are in need of an energy retrofit, panelists said Saturday at the session New Tricks for Old Homes during the REALTOR Conference & Expo in Anaheim.
“There’s an opportunity to revitalize the older housing stock and refresh them as green homes,” Bob Sahadi with the Institute for Market Transformation told attendees.
“Green” retrofits could add up to a potential 30 percent savings, on average, on utility bills—not to mention, increased home owner comfort (in fixing drafty homes) and achieving better air quality circulating throughout the home, panelists said.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Green building and products continue to gain traction in real estate, and some of the latest “green” products not only are helping home owners trim energy bills but also making their homes work smarter.
ONE ‘SMART’ GREEN HOME
The Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry has unveiled its fourth version of its “Smart Home,” a 2,200 square-foot home that boasts some of the latest innovations in green construction. Here are a few of its features:
Photo Credit: J.B. Spector, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
–Monitor energy usage. This home was wired to keep a constant close watch on its energy usage. The home features a large flat-screen television that displays a room-by-room measurement of the home’s energy consumption. The home’s automation system also controls the lighting and can track daily and hourly use of energy.
Photo Credit: J.B. Spector, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
–A mirror not just for your reflection. The Cybertecture Mirror in the home’s master bathroom is no ordinary mirror. You can use a remote to turn it instantly into a computer monitor where you can even check your Facebook page. You can also use it to display time, traffic reports, news, temperature, and even keep track of your weight.
–Movable solar panels. Located in the front of the house, a 45-foot wind turbine provides some of the energy to power the home from the sun. The Smart Home’s rooftop solar panels also are an energy source. Unlike typical solar panels, these panels are soft and roll out on the home’s flat roof so home owners can even take it with them if they ever move. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Remodeling a kitchen, bathroom, or other room to increase a home’s value can be a good idea, but home owners need to be careful when undergoing a remodeling task to ensure they don’t fall for some of the common traps. CNNMoney.com recently highlighted a few such common mistakes:
1. Being too trendy. The home will look out-of-date a lot faster if you just reach for today’s trends, according to design experts. As such, you might want to bypass such trends as glass tiles, wire-hung track lighting, and vessel sinks, says Curt Schultz, a real estate professional and architect in Pasadena, Calif. Instead, opt for classic choices that compliment the home’s original style, he says.
2. Going overboard in the kitchen. Kitchens can help sell houses but that doesn’t give you a green-light to spend big bucks in giving it a total redo. You still want to be practical, or you likely won’t recoup the cost of all your upgrades when selling. The kitchen usually makes up 5 percent to 15 percent of a home’s value so limit your kitchen remodeling budget to that range, says John Bredemeyer with the Appraisal Institute. And don’t gut the kitchen if it’s already in good shape, he adds.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Home owners may write off solar panels as too costly (installation can cost upwards of $15,000), but a new study suggests that installing solar panels can pay off.
Researchers find that solar panels not only save money on electricity bills, but also provide a boost to home owners at resale, particularly when added to existing-homes, according to a new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Home owners not only are likely to recoup their investment from the installation but even stand to make more at resale, the study finds.
Researchers analyzed the sales of about 2,000 solar homes in California from 2000 through mid-2009 and compared the prices to those of 70,000 comparable homes that did not have solar panels.
On average, solar panels added about $5.50 per watt to a home’s resale value. In other words, a home with a typical 3.1-kilowatt solar system stands to make an extra $17,000 above the cost of a comparable, nonsolar home.
So today’s Earth Day, should we go celebrate by adding some solar panels?
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
If a buyer asks for homes with green, eco-friendly features, you might sometimes find it a time-consuming search to find that perfect “green” match. But a new online tool kit is offering guidance to local multiple listing services on how to create searchable fields so that those “green” homes can be found in just a few clicks.
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, along with a team of other associations and groups with green expertise, recently created the Green MLS Tool Kit (www.GreentheMLS.org) aimed at showing local MLSs how to add a green initiative to their MLS.
The request from buyers for “green” features in a home is growing. More buyers are looking to not only curtail high utility bills but also save the planet. Bringing a home’s green assets to the forefront can be an attractive selling point in today’s market, and many real estate professionals are even getting specialized training through the GREEN designation on green real estate issues.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Nearly 50 percent of American adults say that their New Year’s resolution for 2010 is to go green, and even more said they are going to strive to reduce their household energy usage this year, according to a new survey by Move.com.
If they hold true to their “green” desires, Realtor.com offers some help in narrowing their search for a home. Home-shoppers can now customize a search to include energy efficient homes on Realtor.com.
By Don Logay
As the unofficial “What’s New Guru” of the home improvement industry, I attend numerous trade shows throughout the year and scour lots of magazines and trade publications looking for new and exciting products, intriguing concepts and “gotta have” gadgets that make life just a little bit better.
My checklist for “Hot Home Products” includes simplicity, ingenuity, affordability, and great end results. Here are a few of my most recent finds and all-time favorites:
1. Giani Granite Countertop Paint
Got a kitchen countertop that’s seen better days? Laminate chipped and discolored? Solid surface counter stained and scratched? Giani is the world’s first granite paint kit for countertop makeovers. Get the premium “look” of granite at a fraction of the cost — with lots of extra benefits too. Water-based paint kits come in five realistic-looking color combinations and include everything needed to go “granite” in three easy steps in 24-hours or less. One $39.95 kit covers 35 square feet (16 running feet of 24-inch wide counter). Available at paint and hardware stores nationwide. Visit www.GianiGranite.com or call 1-800-650-5699.
2. One2Flush Dual Flush Conversion Kit
Saving water is as “easy as 1, 2…” with the brand new award-winning One2Flush toilet conversion kit. In about 20-minutes, you can quickly and easily turn a standard water-guzzling tank-type toilet into an eco-friendly, high-efficiency, water-saving dual flush model. University tests prove One2Flush — with its “half flush for liquids and full flush for solids” — reduces water use by more than 38 percent and can save an average family over 10 percent on monthly water bills. Fits all standard two-piece toilets, 1.6-gallon flush and up. Starts paying for itself immediately. Available nationwide at most hardware stores (Ace, True Value, Do-It-Best). For more information visit www.one2flush.com. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Alex Plessett & Denise Lehmann
Denise Lehmann and Alex Plessett are building their dream, quite literally.
The builder-REALTOR® pair are the masterminds behind the largest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designated green residential development in Philadelphia. In July, they broke ground on Sheldon Crossing, 20 units of high-end sustainable housing, and expect homes in Phase I to be available for purchase by the year’s end.
While Lehmann and Plessett both hope to see the success of their development come to fruition, they also have a message – that sustainability does not have to sacrifice quality, and that green is the future of real estate.
“REALTORS® are really just beginning to learn about sustainability issues and how important it is for their clients,” Plessett says. “They don’t all need to be experts, but it’s important to be able to talk to their buyers about green products, energy efficiency, and the benefits of living in a green home.
“It’s important for REALTORS® to jump on the bandwagon, because green is here – and it’s here to stay.”
By Erik Fowler, Green trends expert
This is the fourth article in a series designed to help you make sense of the green landscape as a real estate professional. REALTOR® Magazine’s Styled, Staged & Sold blog and I are excited to be covering green home trends in America. In the previous article, I provided a quick guide to green home trends. Here, we’ll highlight green home ratings and certifications.
As we discussed in the last few articles, when discussing green homes it’s important to avoid generalizations or greenwashing, and stick to specifics. As real estate professionals, we should always insist on third-party sources of reliable and verifiable information wherever possible.
When people make “green” claims, we need to know exactly what they mean.
Below are the most widely recognized national green building and/or energy efficient programs nationwide. Keep in mind there are local and regional green building programs as well.
For instance, the Austin Green Building Program was not only one of the first programs in the country to develop a regional green building standard, but it is still considered to be one of the very best programs and models.
Commonalities Among Green Programs
All green building programs should ideally share some common attributes, namely:
- Third-party verification;
- Performance (points) and/or a prescriptive path designed to set green “targets” in several green categories;
- Documentation;
- A resource center for the builder and the consumer.
The point to note is that a standard is followed, documented, measured, and verified. We all know what happens when standards are “self enforced” with no accountability (think latest mortgage crisis).
Also, notice below the various categories of green, what each certification addresses, and recall that green homes do more than address just energy use. While very important, energy is not the only measure of green or sustainability in a home or building.
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