Benefits of green-friendly homes
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
While nearly seven in every 10 consumers believe that energy conservation is important or extremely important, the cost of green improvements is still a significant factor in many home buyers' decisions about purchasing energy-efficient home features. Realtors® attending today's "Greening for Dollars: The Business Benefits of Green Building" session at the National Association of Realtors® 2007 REALTORS® Conference and Expo heard insights like this and others regarding consumer interest in and concerns about green building trends in today's real estate market.
Studies have shown that environmental issues are a growing concern among today's home buyers and sellers. According to the 2007 Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences, a significant majority of new home buyers -- 65 per cent -- think their home's energy efficiency is a very important consideration. Buyers, who placed a priority on energy efficiency, were also more likely to value other environment-friendly features, such as proximity to parks and public transportation, and existence of sidewalks in the neighbourhood.
"Realtors® build communities, and environmental issues related to housing and development affect our global community," said NAR 2007 President Pat V. Combs, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and vice president of Coldwell Banker-AJS-Schmidt. "As green building issues become more important to buyers, sellers and businesses, more and more Realtors® are adding value to the real estate transaction by developing green business practices."
Moderator Suzanne Shelton, CEO of the Shelton Group, introduced consumer research related to green building trends from recent focus groups and surveys. The Shelton Group conducts energy efficiency and green building-related research to assess consumers' knowledge and interest in those issues, including the annual Energy Pulse national consumer study.
"In the past few years, consumers have been bombarded by the marketing messages of companies jumping on the green-friendly bandwagon," said Shelton. "People are becoming much more inquiring about the bill of green goods being sold to them - not only in terms of 'is it as green as what they say it is,' but also 'does it matter enough to me to pay extra?'"
Panel participants were John Stovall, vice president of business development for EcoBroker International, Realtor® Janet Rosenberg, owner and principal broker of Intero Real Estate Services; and Daniele Loffreda of Plateau Enviro Associates and U.S. Green Building Council residential green building advocate.
Individual panel participants explained the perceived value of "green" from the consumer perspective, suggested how homeowners can save money and protect the environment with energy efficient improvements, and emphasised ways Realtors® can educate their clients about the benefits of going green.
"Realtors® must be prepared to respond to the 'green' real estate concerns of our clients and customers," said Stovall. "For example, consumers care about saving money by saving energy. Well-equipped real estate professionals can guide them to the products and resources that help them save energy in their homes at reasonable cost."
Some of the ways homeowners can improve the energy efficiency of their homes include projects such as window replacements, new appliances, and insulation, as well as planning features like landscaping and - for new homes - site orientation to take advantage of sun and shade during different seasons.
"Many consumers don't realise the benefits of green-friendly home features, or that there are 'green' mortgages available to help people purchase a home that meets certain requirements or improve the energy efficiency of an existing home," said Rosenberg, a Realtor® who has integrated green practices into her real estate business. "People hear so much these days about global warming and climate change, but often don't make the connection close to home. As Realtors® who care about our communities, we have a responsibility to educate buyers, sellers and homeowners on the importance of green building practices and energy efficient homes."
Citing data from the National Association of Home Builders, Loffreda explained that the green homes market is expected to increase to 10 percent by 2010. "There is a growing awareness and acceptance of the importance of energy efficiency among homeowners, but much confusion about the broader category of 'green homes,'" said Loffreda. To help eliminate the confusion, USGBC introduced a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes programme, which will launch nationwide after a successful pilot programme that began in 2005. "As buyers learn more about the high-performance green features of a LEED Home and can verify the effectiveness of those features through documentation and performance testing results, they recognise the value of going green."
(The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate industries.)
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Realtor.org
Studies have shown that environmental issues are a growing concern among today's home buyers and sellers. According to the 2007 Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences, a significant majority of new home buyers -- 65 per cent -- think their home's energy efficiency is a very important consideration. Buyers, who placed a priority on energy efficiency, were also more likely to value other environment-friendly features, such as proximity to parks and public transportation, and existence of sidewalks in the neighbourhood.
"Realtors® build communities, and environmental issues related to housing and development affect our global community," said NAR 2007 President Pat V. Combs, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and vice president of Coldwell Banker-AJS-Schmidt. "As green building issues become more important to buyers, sellers and businesses, more and more Realtors® are adding value to the real estate transaction by developing green business practices."
Moderator Suzanne Shelton, CEO of the Shelton Group, introduced consumer research related to green building trends from recent focus groups and surveys. The Shelton Group conducts energy efficiency and green building-related research to assess consumers' knowledge and interest in those issues, including the annual Energy Pulse national consumer study.
"In the past few years, consumers have been bombarded by the marketing messages of companies jumping on the green-friendly bandwagon," said Shelton. "People are becoming much more inquiring about the bill of green goods being sold to them - not only in terms of 'is it as green as what they say it is,' but also 'does it matter enough to me to pay extra?'"
Panel participants were John Stovall, vice president of business development for EcoBroker International, Realtor® Janet Rosenberg, owner and principal broker of Intero Real Estate Services; and Daniele Loffreda of Plateau Enviro Associates and U.S. Green Building Council residential green building advocate.
Individual panel participants explained the perceived value of "green" from the consumer perspective, suggested how homeowners can save money and protect the environment with energy efficient improvements, and emphasised ways Realtors® can educate their clients about the benefits of going green.
"Realtors® must be prepared to respond to the 'green' real estate concerns of our clients and customers," said Stovall. "For example, consumers care about saving money by saving energy. Well-equipped real estate professionals can guide them to the products and resources that help them save energy in their homes at reasonable cost."
Some of the ways homeowners can improve the energy efficiency of their homes include projects such as window replacements, new appliances, and insulation, as well as planning features like landscaping and - for new homes - site orientation to take advantage of sun and shade during different seasons.
"Many consumers don't realise the benefits of green-friendly home features, or that there are 'green' mortgages available to help people purchase a home that meets certain requirements or improve the energy efficiency of an existing home," said Rosenberg, a Realtor® who has integrated green practices into her real estate business. "People hear so much these days about global warming and climate change, but often don't make the connection close to home. As Realtors® who care about our communities, we have a responsibility to educate buyers, sellers and homeowners on the importance of green building practices and energy efficient homes."
Citing data from the National Association of Home Builders, Loffreda explained that the green homes market is expected to increase to 10 percent by 2010. "There is a growing awareness and acceptance of the importance of energy efficiency among homeowners, but much confusion about the broader category of 'green homes,'" said Loffreda. To help eliminate the confusion, USGBC introduced a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes programme, which will launch nationwide after a successful pilot programme that began in 2005. "As buyers learn more about the high-performance green features of a LEED Home and can verify the effectiveness of those features through documentation and performance testing results, they recognise the value of going green."
(The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate industries.)
...................
Realtor.org