SEEKING GREEN

SEEKING GREEN REALTOR® Associations provide a helping hand to achieve sustainability. By Steve Wright Rainwater harvesting is one of the many environmental practices members of Seattle’s TREC promote. N ot that long ago, if a buyer asked a REALTOR® to search for a green house, it could have meant only two things—the shade of paint, or a glassed in structure perfect for growing flowers and vegetables. Now green means environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient, healthy and sustainable. Consumer demand for sustainability has also prompted companies to create coursework and certification programs for REALTORS®. And, as more and more buyers are seeking homes with everything from better air quality and insulation to solar power and rain catch basins, REALTORS® are recognizing the need to be knowledgeable about going “green,” as a way to grow both their client base and sales commissions. To separate the junk science from best practices, a number of large regional REALTOR® Associations are creating green councils, trainings, conferences, certification procedures and partnerships. Consumer demand for sustainability has also prompted companies to create coursework and certification programs for REALTORS®. “We have developed a brochure, Green Living: A Resource Guide for Residents of King County,” said Russell Hokanson, CEO of the Seattle King County Association of REALTORS® (SKCAR). The brochure is available on SKCAR’s Web site, and members are encouraged to provide a copy to new homeowners. “The brochure provides valuable information and resources relating to energy efficiency inside and outside of homes, improving vehicle fuel economy, recycling, calculating carbon footprints and other valuable green tips.” Members of Seattle’s TREC take a day to plant trees in the Hylebos Wetlands. SKCAR partners with a local instructor to offer a classroom course—Green Cities & Housing. It also is collaborating with the Independent Brokers Association to offer a new course—Selling Green Homes. 28 ON COMMON GROUND SUMMER 2008 EcoBroker® International team in Evergreen, Colo. Front row left to right: Kyndal Lee, Vicki Rosa, Linda Besler, Jennifer Shank, Kim Young. Back row left to right: John Beldock, Ryan Moehring, Mark Gashler, John Stovall “Our association lobbies state and local officials for jobshousing balance. Recognizing that one-half of all greenhouse gas (GHG) comes from transportation, one of the best approaches to address climate change is to lobby for jobs-housing balance. This concept advocates for housing opportunities near employment centers.” Hokanson said of the necessity to combine smart growth with green housing: “Jobs-housing balance helps prevent sprawl, provides housing opportunities for workers near their jobs and greatly reduces the vehicle miles traveled and GHG.” SKCAR conceived and created The REALTORS® Environmental Council (TREC), an organization pending nonprofit status that Hokanson believes is the first of its kind in the nation. In his words, TREC was created to: (1) Improve the congruence between public perceptions and the fact that the REALTORS® are sensitive to, and supportive of, well-grounded and responsible environmental stewardship. “Many folks don’t know that the REALTORS® are a founding member of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and for many, many years have annually contributed thousands of dollars to the Coalition’s efforts to secure environmental and recreation project funding for jurisdictions throughout Washington State. The TREC is a natural fit with our strong support for schools, infrastructure and housing, which—like a quality environment—are all prerequisites for quality of life.” (2) Accomplish projects that provide on-the-ground benefits for the environment. “The project at the Hylebos (a watershed conservation area) was the first such project to be undertaken by TREC…[Hylebos] is one of the outstanding environmental assets in the entire Pacific Northwest and the Friends of the Hylebos, with whom we partnered on this project, have a superb reputation for their environmental remediation and enhancement efforts. The REALTORS® would not be content to only talk about the environment and raise funds for environmental projects, as some environmental efforts have done…As part of our local board’s centennial celebration, this fall TREC will work on the ground or provide environmental stewardship to improve a significant greenbelt or park within King County.” (3) Enhance REALTOR® understanding of environmental issues, particularly as they relate to regulation, conservation, enhancement and remediation that affect the sustainability, utilization and development of real property. “This is being accomplished through state-approved clock-hour classes REALTORS® must complete in order to renew their real estate licenses.” (4) Develop and provide to REALTORS® brandable point-of-sale brochures that members can download and use with clients and customers. “For instance, ‘How To Be An Earth-Friendly Homeowner,’ [which can] be downloaded from the SKCAR Web site at http://www.nwrealtor.com/ associations/1563/files/TREC.cfm.” (5) Undertake the advancement of important environmental policies, and/or environmental projects, that other environmental organizations have failed to undertake. 29 Members of TREC learn ways to preserve and restore the North Fork open space of the Hylebos Wetlands. We wanted to help our members understand that this is where the market is going. Hokanson also strongly believes that association boards should work to add green information to their area Multiple Listing Service. Agents can highlight green features for homes that meet third-party certifications for Built Green®, Energy Star® and LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. There are checkboxes for identifying energy-efficient heating and cooling systems including solar and for renewable floor coverings such as bamboo or cork. In a listing’s details about the house lot, a REALTOR® can note sustainable features such as droughtresistant landscaping. Recently, The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the largest full-service MLS in the Pacific Northwest, added information on sustainability to its database. In Portland, Ore., the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS) introduced green listings to much fanfare in 2007. “Green and energy-efficient features have emerged as some of the most important and sought-after by buyers in our RMLS service area,” said RMLS CEO Beth Murphy. “With the help of their REALTORS®, homebuyers now will be able to pinpoint homes with those features.” The RMLS forms include details such as: • Home performance and green home certifications such as Energy Star®, Earth Advantage®, LEED for Homes and others. • High-efficiency 90 AFUE furnaces. • Energy Star appliances. • Source of electrical power, including specific utility service and solar features. • Additional home modifications, including sustainable materials, water filters, rain collectors and solar tubes. When the RMLS rolled out green features for its listings in Oregon and Southwest Washington, it emphasized the industry-wide benefits: • Homebuyers, 78 percent of whom say they would choose one home over another based on its energy efficiency, will be able to search for homes with lower energy costs and environmental impact. Four out of five of the same homebuyers recognize the value of the Energy Star label and 67 percent of them recognize the Earth Advantage brand. • Home builders, nine of 10 saying they incorporate energy-saving products or features into new homes, will be able to differentiate themselves from the competition at a time when the market is cooling. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 64 percent of home builders will either be heavily or moderately involved nationally in green building projects. • Home sellers, who have invested money into energysaving and sustainability features, can better promote their home’s higher resale value. 30 ON COMMON GROUND • Real estate agents have new ways to better meet their clients’ needs whether representing the buyer or seller. Seventy-five percent of those consumers that have used a REALTOR® in the past confirmed that they would turn to a “green” REALTOR® if there was a mechanism for searching and tracking homes built to energy efficient and green building measures. • Appraisers will grow in their ability to incorporate energy efficient and green home features into a home’s appraised value. SKCAR is also an advocate of the EcoBroker® certification program, developed by Dr. John Beldock, former director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Analysis Program. Beldock, currently president and CEO of EcoBroker®, calls it “the first and only international provider of green designation training that provides a unique energy and environmental curriculum to licensed real estate professionals, leading to the EcoBroker® designation.” There are certified EcoBrokers® in 42 states, four Canadian Provinces and the Caribbean. Based in Evergreen, Colo., outside Denver, EcoBroker®’s accredited coursework consists of three six-hour on-line classes. Topics include: • Constructively addressing environmental issues such as radon, asbestos, lead, water, mold and indoor air quality. Reducing liabilities and saving deals by learning to work through environmental issues. • Energy efficiency technologies, sustainable energy options and mortgage options that award up to $15,000 worth of energy efficiency improvements for a home at the closing. Green home certification programs, such as Built Green® and Energy Star® Qualified Homes. • Energy and environmental training that can add value to transactions with consumers both green-minded and not green-aware. Identifying new markets where the EcoBroker® Designation will have appeal and impact, generating more business. EcoBroker® Vice President John K. Stovall was a featured presenter at the Vermont Association of REALTORS® (VAR) 2007 statewide convention, which focused on going green. Robert D. Hill, executive vice president of the VAR, said that, “when the Legislature spent the entire session last year on global warming and attempted to institute mandatory energy efficiency standards on all housing, it was a natural opportunity to make sure our members are conversant with the concepts and adequately prepared to respond to customers who are looking for green real estate. We wanted to help our members understand that this is where the market is going and not just a ‘nerdy idea,’ so they should be professionally primed to provide assistance when their clients ask.” VAR has also worked with Smart Growth Vermont on a project to demonstrate that well-planned communities can fit the Vermont landscape. However, Hill said, acceptance of the concept is moving slowly due to strin- REALTORS® can also be instrumental in showing clients how green improvements can increase the value of their investment. SUMMER 2008 31 Green and energy -efficient features have emerged as some of the most important and sought-after by buyers. gent permitting processes. But even if some government codes are slow to adapt, he said, the bottom line is that green is here to stay. He feels REALTORS® should embrace the change. “Just as REALTORS® have been at the forefront of educating homebuyers and sellers on the hazards and mitigations of lead paint, they can also be instrumental in showing clients how green improvements can increase the value of their investment,” Hill said. The green turning point for Tampa Florida-based Kerry Mitchell was when she was diagnosed with emphysema in 2003. She came to Florida in 2005 to manage two real estate offices and started to read about poor indoor air quality and related topics. She took a year off and founded Green Real Estate Education in 2006. In a little more than a year her firm has “green certified” more than 3,000 professionals in nine states. “We train our students to learn of local initiatives from utilities and to get involved in promoting MLS additions for energy efficiency and fast track permitting (for green building),” said Mitchell, whose students earn a Green Certified Real Estate Professional certification. The program utilizes local utility and green-standard experts, keeping its training relevant to REALTORS®’ home states. Mitchell said green branding can help revitalize sluggish real estate markets. Underscoring the need for REALTORS® to become knowledgeable about sustainability, Mitchell cited a Consumer Energy Study by www.energypulse.org that found: • 86 percent of Americans would choose one home over another based on energy efficiency. • 78 percent of Americans who have bought property say nobody talked to them about energy efficiency. • 62 percent of people want energy efficient dwellings. • 63 percent say energy prices have increased enough to make them consider changing their consumption habits. “Actually, 95 percent of the consumers have no clue what is available for them,” Mitchell said of green building materials, energy efficient appliances and other means toward sustainability. “It is their REALTOR® who needs to educate them. REALTORS® can effect [green] change faster than any other profession. They represent the built structure!” Mitchell has conducted trainings for the Sarasota Association of REALTORS® (SAR). In 2007, SAR formed the Green REALTORS® Alliance of Sarasota (GRAS), which operates as a steering committee. “The mission of the Green REALTORS® Alliance of Sarasota is to be a resource for the preservation of our environment and natural resources as it pertains to real estate. The premise of the group is that being a good steward of the environment and the community is good for real estate and future development,” said Catherine L. McCaskill, director of professional development for SAR. “Sarasota County has a long and proud history of progressive governance in protecting our natural resources and leads the state in green building initiatives. This county gave birth to the Florida Green Building Coalition and has the largest ‘green’ development in the U.S., Lakewood Ranch,” she continued. Lakewood Ranch, a 7,000-acre master-planned conservation community, has won Florida Association of 32 ON COMMON GROUND REALTORS® “ENVY” awards for both its residential and commercial components. ENVYs honor developers who make a significant contribution toward building in harmony with Florida’s sensitive environment. “Every new [Lakewood Ranch] home is certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition Green Home Standard,” McCaskill noted, adding that new residents are often attracted to Sarasota because of the county’s antisprawl and anti-waste initiatives. McCaskill praised Sarasota County for passing legislation that limits lawn watering to once per week and requires sod to be less than half of any landscaped area. In addition, the county has a strict water conservation ordinance for golf courses and conservation water rate structures. These measures have resulted in a per-capita water usage that is 40 percent lower than the rest of the state. To bolster these efforts, SAR held a Smart Growth Conference in conjunction with the Florida Association of REALTORS® and Florida Atlantic University in 2006. “Augmenting the information presented by speakers, commissioners from the city of Sarasota took conference participants on a guided tour by trolley of the downtown area and historic waterfront Lido Key, making the connection between urban redevelopment, preservation of the environment, and future real estate opportunities.” ● ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: www.nwrealtor.com www.ecobroker.com www.greenrealestateeducation.com www.sarasotarealtors.com www.lakewoodranch.com www.vtrealtor.com www.rmls.com Wright frequently writes about smart growth and sustainable communities. He and his wife live in a restored historic home in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana. Contact him at: stevewright64@yahoo.com REALTORS® can effect [green] change faster than any other profession. From left to right: REALTORS® Kristen Greenlaw, David Crowell and Jim Luckey enjoyed their experience restoring the Hylebos Wetlands. SUMMER 2008 33