Eco-Cities: What Role Should Realtors Play With Green?
Posted in California Real Estate Bloggers By Stefan Swanepoel, Wednesday, May 6, 2009.The recent Earth Day gave the green revolution another shot up the arm. When Earth Day started in 1970 a large number of people (20 million people one country) had already committed to celebrate it. Since then that number has exploded to 500 million (175 countries); about 7% of the world’s population.
But even prior to 2000 “building green” still remained outside mainstream awareness – but has that changed, and for many good reasons. Elevating the profile of “Green” has been added to the agenda of movie celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, music stars like Radiohead and of course, political celebrities like former vice president Al Gore.
Closer to the home front, the U.S. Green Building Council has made great strides with the release of the first green building standards under its Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for new construction, existing building operations and commercial interiors. The USGBC also created its Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation that recognizes builders, remodelers and other industry professionals who incorporate green building principles into homes without driving up the cost of construction. The National Association of REALTORS® has also validated this growing trend when they launched their new designation aptly called “Green” for Realtors®.
With buildings accounting for large amounts of land use, energy and water consumption, and air and atmosphere alteration, it’s important that we start building new eco-cities. Here are some of the buzz words and concepts that are contributing to reducing the impact of building on human health and the world we live in:
• Advanced water conservation
• Greywater and wastewater-treatment techniques
• Lush planted terraces with parapets collecting rainwater for reuse
• Air-quality-enhancing garden filled atriums
• Photovoltaics
• Passive solar building design
• Heavily insulated walls, triple-glaze doors and windows
• Heat recovery ventilation systems
• Reduced surface area designs to minimize loss of heat
• Environmentally-controlled systems
• Reducing environmental degradation
So after years of doing very little and now after months of consultation with the American Institute of Architects comprehensive, new legislation is at last being introduced that is aimed at promoting energy efficiency in residential buildings. The bill would provide incentives to lenders and financial institutions to provide lower interest loans and other benefits to consumers who build, buy, or remodel their homes and businesses to improve their energy efficiency.
Living “green” isn’t an one-legislation-event or an all-or-nothing proposition. It is an evolution, a growth process, and a re-thinking of our existing patterns, habits and thoughts. Above it all we must recognize that we have a responsibility to our children to take care of the place we call earth and to preserve it for future generation.
What could Realtors do to help?
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Submitted by Diane B Aurit on May 6, 2009 - 11:11am.
Diane Aurit
Realtors are going to play a critical role in this "green" movement as we must educate our clients about "green" or "high performance" homes. The builders in my Lake Norman area are working hard to incorporate energy efficiency and other "green" building elements into their new homes but it is essential that Realtors understand these homes in order to sell them. We need to have resources available from Energy Auditors to links to websites where our buyers and sellers can go to get answers. Personally, I am an EcoBroker, and a Certified Green Profession (a National Home Builders Association program) and I am very involved with our builders who are focused on building "green" homes. We Realtors are in the middle serving as the conduit of information from the builders to the public which is a a critical component to spreading the "green" movement!
Submitted by GLORIA LAUGHTON ALLSTON on May 6, 2009 - 11:45am.
GLORIA LAUGHTON ALLSTON,REALTOR,GREEN,SRES
BURGDORFF ERA REALTORS
264 NASSAU STREET
PRINCETON, NJ 08542
(609)252-2319
What a great reminder that we are finally addressing the sustainability issues in a cohesive fashion. I hold the NAR GREEN designation and, as a real estate agent in New Jersey, am amazed at how little lay people and professionals know about the move to behave responsibly today in order to protect future generations. The thing that I try to get across to folks is that the new mindset "is not difficult" but "it is different". Just as we became accustomed to treating our natural resources as though they were unending, we now have an opportunity to change and begin to implement modifications to protect these resources.
What better way to start than with our individual home and transportation choices.
Submitted by Stefan Swanepoel on May 13, 2009 - 1:00pm.
@Diane and @Gloria,
Thanks for comments and support for our environment. Wish more Realtors were willing to get involved.
Submitted by Carol Best on May 13, 2009 - 5:45pm.
Realtors are on an endless learning curve... The new green movement in real estate which includes self-sustaining communities, rainwater systems, net metering, reclaimed and recycled materials, energy efficiencies and water conservation systems are just the tip of the iceberg. We need to be more conscious of our current carbon footprint and the impact it has on future generations.
We are launching a new community here in Illinois, west of Chicago. Our award-winning developer and green building team is launching a very unique community. We've even received special zoning from officials in Kane County, IL - Agricultural/Conservation - in keeping with the year 2030 future planning vision. Our unique community will have single family homes, built by our green master builder. Our world-class equestrian facility is being endorsed by a gold-medal Olympian for Hunter/Jumpers.
To learn more, log on to: http://LiveatSerosunFarms.com
For the Equestrian:
http://RideatSerosunFarms.com
A community of this calibur, with super-energy-efficient homes ranging from $700,000 to $2,000,000 is ahead of the curve. I am honored to be the chosen Realtor to market this awesome project.
Carol Best - GREEN, CRS, ePRO, CLHMS, CNHS, RCC
Sotheby's Int'l Realty | Hunter's Fairway
101 S. Wynstone Park Drive
North Barrington, IL 60010
Cell: 773-799-5939
Carol@CarolBest.net
Submitted by Christi Borden, CIPS, ABR, GRI on May 14, 2009 - 5:07am.
The Greater Houston Area is experiencing a burst of Green activity and our MLS Advisory Council (of which I am a member) is currently working on changes that will support buyers searching for homes with not only Green features but those that offer the highest energy efficiency. We have many agents working on their Green certifications and designations and we are proud of our progress. For a city dependent on the purchase of oil, we may have been a bit late getting in the game but I think we are on the right track.
Your Katy (and Houston), TX Realtor,
Christi Borden, CIPS, GRI, ABR
Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors
Email: Christi@ChristiBorden.com
Web: www.ChristiBorden.com
Cell: 832-372-7470
Submitted by Erik Lerner | Real Estate Architect on May 14, 2009 - 2:23pm.
A correction to this: "The USGBC also created its Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation that recognizes builders, remodelers and other industry professionals who incorporate green building principles into homes without driving up the cost of construction."
BuildItGreen has a certification for something called a Green Building Professional. See http://www.builditgreen.org/cgbp
USGBC has made a point of distinguishing between its policy to "certify" buildings and "credential" LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs). See http://www.gbci.org/
Submitted by Sean Lee on August 20, 2009 - 12:22pm.
California may be a leader in the green and solar sustailability products throughout the nation. I read a new about green building renovation cost more than $350 million on Chicago Wills Tower,
See http://www.training4green.com/blog/2009/08/350-million-green-building-re...
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