You’ve upgraded your home with the latest green features, and there’s an eco-friendly buyer out there looking for a green home.
How can the two of you connect?
Choose a green real estate agent
Hire a real estate agent who knows as much about green homes as you do. About 3,200 REALTORS® nationwide have earned the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Green Designation by taking classes in green building, sustainable business practices, and green home marketing. A private company offers the EcoBroker designation.
Questions to ask a REALTOR® who specializes in green homes:
- Have you had special training in selling green homes?
- Do you serve buyers seeking green houses, and do you have a list of buyers actively seeking green homes?
- How many green homes have you sold in the past year?
- How do you market a green home differently than a regular home?
List your home’s green features
In selling a home, you can trumpet its greenness in two ways in the typical green MLS.
Your real estate agent can note if your home or its features have been officially certified or designated green. Then, agents for homebuyers interested in green homes can search for local designations as well as national designations and certifications like:
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
- Energy Star
- Enterprise Green Communities
- The Environmental Protection Agency’s airPLUS Guidelines and Water Sense programs
- Home Energy Rating System (HERS Index)
- Living Building Challenge
- National Green Building Standard
The other way to highlight your house’s green features is to specify them in the home MLS’ searchable fields. For example, if you have solar panels, water-saving devices, or geothermal heating, your agent can check those fields. Real estate agents helping buyers interested in a green home can also use the search function to find green homes with specific features.
In some green MLSs, your agent can highlight the brand and model of energy-efficient appliances and building materials. The result is a movement toward a more standardized and accurate way for buyers to find the type of home they want and for you to highlight your home’s green upgrades.
Use the home MLS comments section
What if your local home MLS isn’t green? Your agent can market your home’s green features in the home MLS by listing them in the additional remarks space. Work with your agent so she knows which features you’d like to highlight, which features she recommends highlighting, and how those features contribute to your home’s energy efficiency and eco-friendliness.
Can you get more money for a green home?
When selling a home, going green can raise its value, according to a Freddie Mac study. Homes that demonstrate more energy efficiency can command higher sales prices because of their potential to save on utility bills, the research found. Other findings:
- On average, rated homes sold for 2.7% more than unrated homes.
- Among rated homes, the ones with better ratings sold for 3% to 5% more than lesser-rated homes.
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