It Ain't Easy Bein' Green

As we become more aware of a lack of symbiosis with our environment and educated on sustainable living, we may be finding that it's harder than we thought to be "green."  In real estate, there's more and more attention being paid to using sustainable materials and recycling the old.  Homeowners are building and retrofitting their properties with more efficient systems both to save money and resources and make their homes more desirable upon resale.

The challenge comes when trying to determine which changes and upgrades are going to be the best value.  In a relatively young industry, terms like "environmentally-friendly" and "sustainable" can be confusing in their application.  Even as new regulations are created to govern the use of these labels, consumers may not know the definitions.  For each homeowner, decisions must be made regarding their specific property, needs and budgets.  Is it enough to replace the old refrigerator with a high-efficiency one or do we also install solar panels big enough to bank excess power for our own use later?

Grey water systems allow you to reuse water in your garden

The real estate industry has been doing what it can to keep up with both the incorporation and promotion of new technologies as well as evaluating their effectiveness and popularity among consumers.  It can be difficult to determine how much a specific market will embrace and value a particular green feature.  There is an expectation by homeowners, for example, that the cost of installing a grey water system will be recouped when they once again sell their home.  But unlike renovating a kitchen or basement, we don't have a lot of data to determine the return on investment yet.

Many multiple listing services - the central databases for real estate agents to market properties and contract with other agents - have added fields to their listings to enumerate a property's green features.  There is also an EcoBroker designation that real estate agents can earn to best identify and value these items for their sellers.  Even so, it is still difficult to get a consensus among the majority of buyers, sellers, agents and appraisers.

To help rectify this, the Colorado Energy Office has recently reached an agreement with the Colorado Coalition of Appraisers and the Appraisal Institute to begin developing studies that quantify the market reaction to certain industry trends.  The aim is to provide appraisers, as well as homeowners, with more data regarding which energy-efficient enhancements give the best return on investment, both for the immediate energy savings and the value for future owners.  If you are considering investing in an energy-efficient system for your home, keep an eye on these organizations (or this blog) for updates on what choices may be best for you.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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