Mary Ellen Podmolik
Local Scene
The idea of putting green features into a home sounds well and good, but, like other investments, homeowners want to know they're getting at least some of their investment back at resale, and buyers want to know exactly what they're getting.
Both continue to be a tricky issues when it comes to marketing a green home and placing a value on it, particularly at a time when the nearest comparable sale may be a foreclosure down the street.
"Greenwashing" has landed in the housing market, and it's proving to be a pesky nuisance that requires housing market professionals to become sleuths, as evidenced by complaints from real estate agents and builders from throughout the country who attended Greenbuild, a national conference on sustainable building practices held last month in Chicago.
Here's just one inkling of the fact versus fiction: Real estate agents have seen evidence of firms offering fake Energy Star plaques that people can affix to their homes' exterior, said Al Medina, a Chicago real estate agent and director of the National Association of Realtors' green designation.
The National Association of Realtors likes the idea of highlighting a home's environmentally friendly features in its listing but wants to ensure everything's on the up and up.
In a national survey, 240 of 629 multiple listing services said they have implemented or are in the process of inserting some green fields into their listing forms. But making sure those fields are filled out accurately is largely a matter of self-policing.
More than 70 percent of the listings in Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service Inc., for instance, have at least one green field checked, but what does green mean? "A ceiling fan qualifies as a green feature, and in Arizona there isn't a home that doesn't have a fan," said Chief Executive Bob Bemis.
More than a year ago, the multiple listing service for the Chicago area, Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, added a green disclosure by the seller as one of the options in its listing.
Why are some in the field pushing for green listings? Because they pay off. In Portland, Ore., the price premium for a certified green home was 18 percent in 2009-2010. In Atlanta, certified green homes this year are selling 14 days faster than conventional homes.
Valuing those homes at appraisal continues to be an issue as well.
While the number of appraisers trained in placing a monetary value on green improvements continues to grow, experts say it falls on homeowners and real estate agents to ensure they've got the right appraiser for the job. The key is to be an active participant in the appraisal process from the get-go, rather than fight the results after the fact.
Homeowners are recommended to keep a running file at their home, defining every project undertaken to make the home more green. When it comes time to have a property appraised, homeowners should ask the appraiser if he or she has green training. If not, request a different appraiser.
Then show the appraiser all the documentation on the home and its environmental attributes, including its home energy rating and inspection documentation. For new construction, include the building plans, specifications and the cost breakdown between a house built to standard code and a house built to certified green specifications, said Sandra Adomatis, a Punta Gorda, Fla.-based appraiser.
"We can't (just) say it's a better-built home," Adomatis said. "The lender says 'Why?' You can argue with the appraiser all day long, but you can't argue with the facts."
Sarah Coulter, head of @Properties' green division, said she finds herself talking up green features of a home to appraisers, with the documentation to prove her words, and most of the time they welcome her assistance. But it doesn't always translate into immediate dollars and cents.
"I think it is increasing value but not by a specific calculation," Coulter said. "It's adding to the marketability. More and more consumers are interested in hearing more about what features are in the home to get them on that (green) path."
Local Scene
The idea of putting green features into a home sounds well and good, but, like other investments, homeowners want to know they're getting at least some of their investment back at resale, and buyers want to know exactly what they're getting.
Both continue to be a tricky issues when it comes to marketing a green home and placing a value on it, particularly at a time when the nearest comparable sale may be a foreclosure down the street.
"Greenwashing" has landed in the housing market, and it's proving to be a pesky nuisance that requires housing market professionals to become sleuths, as evidenced by complaints from real estate agents and builders from throughout the country who attended Greenbuild, a national conference on sustainable building practices held last month in Chicago.
Here's just one inkling of the fact versus fiction: Real estate agents have seen evidence of firms offering fake Energy Star plaques that people can affix to their homes' exterior, said Al Medina, a Chicago real estate agent and director of the National Association of Realtors' green designation.
The National Association of Realtors likes the idea of highlighting a home's environmentally friendly features in its listing but wants to ensure everything's on the up and up.
In a national survey, 240 of 629 multiple listing services said they have implemented or are in the process of inserting some green fields into their listing forms. But making sure those fields are filled out accurately is largely a matter of self-policing.
More than 70 percent of the listings in Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service Inc., for instance, have at least one green field checked, but what does green mean? "A ceiling fan qualifies as a green feature, and in Arizona there isn't a home that doesn't have a fan," said Chief Executive Bob Bemis.
More than a year ago, the multiple listing service for the Chicago area, Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, added a green disclosure by the seller as one of the options in its listing.
Why are some in the field pushing for green listings? Because they pay off. In Portland, Ore., the price premium for a certified green home was 18 percent in 2009-2010. In Atlanta, certified green homes this year are selling 14 days faster than conventional homes.
Valuing those homes at appraisal continues to be an issue as well.
While the number of appraisers trained in placing a monetary value on green improvements continues to grow, experts say it falls on homeowners and real estate agents to ensure they've got the right appraiser for the job. The key is to be an active participant in the appraisal process from the get-go, rather than fight the results after the fact.
Homeowners are recommended to keep a running file at their home, defining every project undertaken to make the home more green. When it comes time to have a property appraised, homeowners should ask the appraiser if he or she has green training. If not, request a different appraiser.
Then show the appraiser all the documentation on the home and its environmental attributes, including its home energy rating and inspection documentation. For new construction, include the building plans, specifications and the cost breakdown between a house built to standard code and a house built to certified green specifications, said Sandra Adomatis, a Punta Gorda, Fla.-based appraiser.
"We can't (just) say it's a better-built home," Adomatis said. "The lender says 'Why?' You can argue with the appraiser all day long, but you can't argue with the facts."
Sarah Coulter, head of @Properties' green division, said she finds herself talking up green features of a home to appraisers, with the documentation to prove her words, and most of the time they welcome her assistance. But it doesn't always translate into immediate dollars and cents.
"I think it is increasing value but not by a specific calculation," Coulter said. "It's adding to the marketability. More and more consumers are interested in hearing more about what features are in the home to get them on that (green) path."
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