Who are “Green” Buyers and Sellers?

By Erik Fowler

This is the third 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 an overview of green homes and real estate. Here, we’ll highlight green buyers and sellers, and the listing and marketing of green homes.

When talking about a green home, it’s important to avoid generalizations and stick to specifics. For instance, when working with a buyer and discussing his or her interests and needs, the subject of utility bills or other costs associated with a home purchase will often come up. This is a perfect time to discuss energy efficiency and how utility bills are affected by how well-built and how well-insulated a home is.

It is important to understand that the purchase price is a major, but not the only, cost consideration. Utility bills and home maintenance contribute to monthly bills as well.

Is it an Energy Star Home?

If your client is considering new construction, you may want to search for an Energy Star Qualified home. Energy Star homes must be tested by a third party and are designed to be at least 15 percent more energy efficient than baseline new construction (do not confuse Energy Star appliances with an Energy Star home).

The point here, of course, is that agents should be informed about energy efficiency and green home trends, but should not represent themselves as experts in this area.

Get Proof

When a client mentions specific issues of concern or interest to them, the first reference point should be your state’s disclosure notice from the seller. In the case of energy efficiency, if the seller markets his/her home as “green” or “energy efficient”, then it is our job as real estate professionals to ensure that the buyer has as much specific information as possible from the seller or builder, and from reputable third-party sources. Read more

Shrinking Homes: How Small Will Homes Go?

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

Have the days of the 4,000-square-foot McMansion come to an end?

Maybe, according to a recent article in The Los Angeles Times by Nicholas Riccardi (see Home Sizes Change With the Times)

The size of the average America home shrunk by 11 percent last year, a faster rate than any time since the 1970s, according to the article.

In fact, the National Association of Home Builders is reporting that 90 percent of its builder members are opting to build small now due to increased energy consciousness, downsizing empty-nest baby boomers, and, not surprisingly, the softening economy. Builders are also going smaller with less-expensive models in trying to compete with the large inventory of discounted foreclosures dominating the market. (See KB Home Tries Tiny Homes to Attract Buyers)

“Families and lifestyles are changing,” Bobbie Cooper, director of sales for The Development Group, told The Los Angeles Times. “In 2005 you couldn’t build it big enough. Now it’s all about getting back to the basics.”

What have you noticed with your listings? Do the smaller homes seem to be selling faster than the larger homes in your market? Comment here or send an e-mail to mtracey@realtors.org with your thoughts for a possible article on this topic for REALTOR® Magazine.

“Green” Kitchens, Products, Designs: Is it the New Buzz Word?

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

You’ve undoubtedly heard a lot talk about “green” building lately. The U.S. Green Building Council has called energy-efficient home construction one of the few industries that is growing and thriving in the softened economy. According to a recent National Association of Home Builders survey, 61 percent of consumers said they would even be willing to spend more than $5,000 upfront to save on utility costs–which green construction targets.

But what are some of these “green” features that are popping up in homes today? REALTOR® Magazine recently visited Abt Electronics in Glenview, Ill., to tour one of its eco-friendly kitchen models and find out about the newest “green” kitchen features (see video below). Also, check out senior editor Wendy Cole’s article on “10 Ways to Make Your House Greener,” featuring new eco-friendly products.

In your markets, have you been noticing more clients asking questions about the “green” qualities in a home? Or do you think the green-construction movement has been overhyped? Share your thoughts!