Last year, Seattle became the second city/region in the nation (behind Portland, Ore.) to offer green building criteria on its Multiple Listing Service.
One year later, research shows that the Seattle area's green homes are selling 18 % faster than their non-green counterparts, and for 28 %-38 % higher value, according to a July 1, 2008 article on Business Wire.
Ben Kaufman, founder of GreenWorks Realty in Seattle, noted that the new data clearly shows that buyers want green and that green homes have more value.
Prior data was mostly based on specualation, according to Aaron Adelstein of Built Green in the Seattle area, while Marni Kahn of the Cascadian Region Building Council says that green home certification "acts as a 'nutrition label' giving homeowners third-party verification that they are making the right decisions for their family's health and the environment, while saving money on energy, water and transportation bills."
From my perspective as a real estate investor (as well as an agent) this is great news for investors who use rehabbing as an exit strategy.
I think in the past, some rehabbers have been hesitant to add green materials because of perceived additional costs, but this data shows that by renovating green you definitely have a competitive advantage as well as the opportunity to benefit a homeowner's qualify of life, both health-wise and financially.
This creates a beautiful circle of win/win that I think is fantastic!
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