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Green Living
News Flash!
News Flash!
A 'green' home revolution has begun.
The media is saturated with reports on the relationship between energy consumption and climate change and homebuyers are taking notice. The National Association of Home Builders recently published a report stating that the residential green-building market place is expected to boost its market share upwards of $30 billion by 2010, up from $7.4 billion in 2005. As one of the earliest points of contact in the home buying process, residential realtors are strongly positioned to assist homebuyers wanting to 'go green' in their home purchases. But first Realtors need to prepare with company wide education on sustainable building practices and also commit to a 'green makeover' of their building and operations
Why should a Realtor 'go green'? U.S. consumers are responding positively to eco-friendly products and companies that observe the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. These are a new breed of consumer: the 'Guppy'- green urban professional. Guppys know that buildings consume 48% of the US's energy and create higher green house gas emissions than cars. Residential energy consumption is a significant part of this statistic. Guppys want to buy 'green' homes. But desire for conservationism is not limited to urban dwellers. All homebuyers, of whatever age, whether in cities, suburbia, exurbia, or our smallest towns, given the option will choose to cut down on energy costs if not also consider benefits to the health of the planet.
So how does a Realty owner get started? It's easy! First the basics: Look around your office...Get rid of incandescent light bulbs and change to compact fluorescent bulbs. They use significantly less energy and give off less heat, which cuts down on summer cooling costs.
How is your office recycling program doing? A typical Realty office uses loads of paper. Walk through your building and peek in trashcans to see how much paper should have been in the recycling bin. Source paper with recycled content for your copy machines, printers and printed advertising. Initiate a company commitment to reducing paper use and recycling.
Next, consider power consumption of building occupants. Are computers left running even when not in use? Are office lights on during lunch hour or property viewings? What about copy machines? Is someone responsible for turning them off at night?
Ask your cleaning service to source environmentally friendly fluids to reduce indoor air pollution.
Become familiar with Energy Star, the EPA non profit promoting energy efficiency, www.energystar.gov. Find an Energy Star certified auditor to rate your building for energy loss and make recommendations for renovations that will help you cut down on energy loss through the building envelope. By using building information modeling, the auditor illustrates how many years it will take to pay back such improvements through lower energy bills. Many States as well as Uncle Sam offer tax deductions to help both resdientail and commercial building owners to offset energy efficient renovation costs. Find an Energy Star rated building auditor by using the www.energystar.gov website, or ask your local heating and ventilation companies for referrals. Share the results from your audit with your staff and sales associates; make sure they are aware of the remedial action you choose to take for your building so they can talk about the process with prospective home buyers.
