Real estate brokers and agents have a message for home sellers: play up the energy efficiency aspects of your property.
According to the newly released “2023 Realtors and Sustainability Report – Residential” published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nearly two-thirds (63%) of brokers and agents said promoting energy efficiency in listings is either very or somewhat valuable. And almost half (48%) of the real estate professionals polled by NAR for the report said consumers were very or somewhat interested in sustainability.
Half of the surveyed realtors said they were directly involved with a property with green features over the past 12 months, either on the buyer or seller side. The report also determined 32% of real estate professionals were working with local multiple listing services that had green data fields – and 37% of those brokers and agents said they used those fields to promote green features, while 24% promoted energy information and 14% promoted green certifications.
And it seems that energy efficiency and sustainability impacted all parties in the home sale process – 32% of realtors said they were concerned about the effects of climate change events on the real estate market, with 17% stating their clients consider environmental risk during the purchase process.
Also, the green aspect of sustainability goes beyond ecology – 17% said high-performance homes – properties where home improvements that can increase indoor comfort, health, operational efficiency and durability – had an increase of 1% to 10% of the dollar value offered compared to similar, non-high-performance homes.
“While each area of the country has a unique climate and community resources, realtors are finding the need to embrace their clients’ sustainability interests,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “Buyers often seek homes that either lessen their environmental footprint or reduce their monthly energy costs. There is value in promoting green features and energy information to future home buyers.”
The data in NAR’s report was culled from 2,062 responses from an online survey of its members.
;
