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upward goes the neighborhood Green homes equal market advantage
Greetings@HeirloomTimberFraming.com Brasstown, North Carolina
Certified: Even in a down market, demand for environmentally friendly homes has risen in recent years. This Waynesville, N.C., residence, built by Hanson Builders, is NC HealthyBuilt Home certified. PHOTO By BETH BROWN PHOTOGRAPHy
By M A R y LO V E In today’s market, a house has to be in good condition and priced right just to get noticed. There also has to be “special” factor to get it sold. Certified Green Homes have that factor. In a study of existing and new houses sold from May 2010 through April 2011, the Earth Advantage Institute in Portland, Ore., found that newly constructed homes with third-party certifications for sustainability and energy efficiency sold for 8 percent more on average than non-certified homes in the six-county Portland metropolitan area. Existing houses with certifications sold for 30 percent more. The raw sales data in the study was provided by the Portland Regional Multiple Listing Service. “Certified” houses were defined as those carrying ENERGY STAR or LEED for Homes designations or Earth Advantage home certifications (an Oregon-based
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program). The latest study was the fourth in an annual series conducted by the Earth Advantage Institute, each of which has shown clear price premiums for certified houses. Homes marketed with energy-efficiency certifications appear to sell faster on average than those without. In Atlanta, another study of greencertified home sales prices found more mixed results. Although certified homes sold for lower prices on average, they did sell faster and closer to asking price, according to the Atlanta Green Home Sales Report from local Realtor Carson Matthews. In 2010, certified homes spent an average of 97 days on the market, compared with 123 for traditionally built homes. The homes were certified by EarthCraft House, LEED for Homes and ENERGY STAR. In WNC, a study of certified ENERGY STAR and HealthyBuilt homes also showed mixed results. Certified
WNC GreeN BuildiNG CouNCil & MouNtaiN Xpress