Will Going Green be the next trend?

Green building may help you get out ahead of the curve

The housing market remains stagnant across most of the country, and analysts are worried about rising interest rates as well as widespread subprime mortgage lending. Some observers are beginning to ask if a beacon of light may be found in the burgeoning field of green building.

Ninety-two percent of all homebuyers consider energy efficiency at least somewhat important, with 46 % ranking energy efficiency as very important when considering a home for purchase. Green construction, designers and builders commit to minimizing waste, improving a building's efficiency in terms of energy and water use, using sustainable or recycled products, and protecting indoor air quality.  

 Walter Molony, a spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors, said he believes green features may help homeowners stand out from the competition. "People definitely value energy efficiency," Molony said via telephone from the NAR's LEED-certified green office building in Washington , DC . "As utility costs continue to rise, it becomes greater value in people's minds," he added. Molony said his industry doesn't yet have a reliable way of breaking down sales of green versus conventional homes. But a number of trends provide insight into green building's great promise. More than 97,000 homes have been built and certified by voluntary green building programs around the country since the mid-1990s, according to the National Association of Home Builders, representing a 50 percent increase from the group's 2004 survey. Further, more than half of NAHB's 235,000 members (representing about 80 percent of homebuilders) reported that they expect to be employing at least some green building practices by the end of the year.

A number of Realtors around the country have reported increasing buyer requests for green homes. Citing consumer demand, the Northwest MLS (Multiple Listing Service) recently announced that it is updating its database to allow for property searches based on a range of green features.

Owners of green homes tend to be happier than when they lived in more conventional digs, according to a recent NAHB/McGraw-Hill Construction survey. Perhaps another telling sign of the green shift in the building trades is the fact that almost 40 percent of Americans who recently renovated their dwellings did so with at least some green products.

Late this spring, the NAHB announced that it is working to create widely applicable standards for green home construction. The U.S. Green Building Council is also in the process of rolling out LEED certification (already well established for commercial structures) for the residential sector.

There may be no better time than now to invest in some smart energy efficiency and green improvements around your house.

Did you know:  

An EcoBroker is a truly dedicated real estate professional who has taken additional energy and environmental training geared towards meeting the needs of buyers, sellers and clients. If you are looking to work with a real estate professional who is also a great green ambassador, please give me a call.

 Debra Allen 480-797-4080 or visit my website: http://www.DebraAllen.com

Cities Where Green is the Favorite

Drivers are enthusiastic about green cars, particularly drivers in West Coast cities, says Cars.com editor-in-chief Patrick K Olsen.

Cars.com has created the Green Index to monitor interest in hybrid vehicles in the 50 largest markets in the country. Rankings are calculated on the number of hybrid searches in a market as a percentage of all new-car Internet searches in the market.

Anyone who would like to live where most of the neighbors are environmentally concerned should consider these top-10 markets with the highest level of interest in hybrids.

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
Portland, Ore
Seattle
Sacramento
San Diego
Los Angeles
Denver
Washington, D.C.
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Boston

Arizona is not far to follow
Source: Cars.com (08/09/2008)