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Industry NewsOlder homes can be made ‘greener’
A few minor changes can make an older home more environmentally attractive to buyers, according to many GREEN REALTORS®.
More consumers are looking for homes that are energy-efficient and more ‘green,’ said REALTOR® Steve Matthews of Prudential New Jersey Properties, Montclair, NJ, who’s seeing an increase in consumer demand as his region is limited in new construction.
Matthews, who has a GREEN designation, said, “In the northeast, we’re still playing catchup to the west coast in terms of looking at issues like greening our homes.” Many northeast metropolitan areas have little or no space for little new construction and consumers have focused on how to make existing homes more environmentally friendly.
Clients thinking about selling an older home can make a few changes:
- Add blown-in insulation and energy-efficient windows. Document the difference in your energy savings. “It doesn’t sound like a lot to start with but during the winter months these can make significant savings,” Matthews said.
- Conduct a home-energy audit to see where the house is losing energy. An audit will show cold or hot spots.
- Add Energy Star appliances. These appliances add value to the home and make the home more energy efficient.
- Make changes to the landscaping. Use indigenous plants that require less maintenance and less water.
- Use low VOC paints when repainting the home.
“Keep documents on everything you do,” Matthews added. “Make them available to potential buyers. If someone’s especially interested in green aspects, this gives him extra confidence in what you’ve done.”
Kate Hart of Hart and Associates Staging and Design of suburban Philadelphia agreed with Matthews. “You don’t have to gut your house to make your home more energy efficient. There are some simple things to make a difference,” she added. “Replacing windows and garage doors helps the appearance of the home and helps with energy savings. And some items are available for a tax credit as well.
“Make a list and show it when potential buyers come through,” she said. “Show the buyers the savings you’ve seen in your utilities. With the deregulation on utilities in Pennsylvania, buyers are going to be concerned as they’re looking at a new home.”
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Kim Shindle is the Manager of Media Relations at the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. |
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Just finished instructing the 2 day core class for GREEN. The agents in the class had great experiences to share and many had tried incorporating “green/energy efficient” changes to their own homes. Even had several contractors who’ve done impressive projects with LEED and NAHB GREEN. GREEN is here to stay and as real estate professionals we’ll be the source the consumer turns to so we need to be prepared to help them find answers.
As a NAR GREEN Designation instructor I marvel at all the things students have done to their homes, even before taking the class, to make them more sustainable. It’s a truism that the public want to have more energy-efficient homes, economically and sustainably practices in their lives. There is a wealth of information out there, in the GREEN Designation class and at GreenAndSave.com and other sites. While it can be overwhelming, these and many other helps are out there to assist in creating a plan to go green.
Hi Kim,
We should discuss EEM’s. I am educating and promoting FHA’s EEM-Energy Efficient Mortgage, a great way to finance energy retrofitting.
Time to visit Adrienne too to let her know what’s new at FHA.
Regards,
Dave