Green Real Estate

Environmental protection has gained the support of the population at large. Living green is no longer a fad, nor a trendy “statement” or “alternative lifestyle”. According to the Green Outlook 2009: Trends Driving Change, McGraw-Hill Construction, green real estate is altering fundamental market dynamics, with 70% of home buyers saying they were more inclined to buy a green home in a down economy than a non-green home.

The benefits range from tangible, i.e. financial and tax-related, to the less empirical, i.e. better health and quality of life.

There is a laundry list of tax rebates and other financial incentives designed to encourage individuals and businesses to go the greener mile. At the federal level in the U.S., individuals can reap the rewards of no less than eight different financial incentives ranging from tax credits and home loans for replacing windows and installing insulation around the house to tax rebates for hooking up a solar hot water heater.

Besides these federal incentives, nearly every U.S. state has additional state or local incentives available. Many require utilities to rebate consumers who save electricity. Some utilities even offer “net metering,” whereby consumers who generate some of their power through rooftop solar panels or other technologies can sell electricity back to the utility, thus reducing or zeroing out their electric bill—even earning money.

Both residential and commercial buildings retain a higher resale value if they include sustainable design components. The value to prospective buyers comes from knowing their utility and maintenance costs will be lower in green buildings that outperform non-green buildings.

There are various avenues for learning green real estate concepts, principles, practices and benefits from the ground up, and that offer “Green designation”. The tipping point has occurred and green, sustainable real estate is here to stay. As more and more people (including many home buyers!) are adopting a personal responsibility to "think globally and act locally" as environmental stewards of planet Earth, there has never been a better time for real estate professionals to become ambassadors in this ever-changing green world.

Are you incorporating green practices in your business, we’d love to hear about it!