Like a lot of us hippie liberals (thats what dad would have called those who follow whole green movement), I am concerned about the environment and that state of what I’ll be leaving behind for my kids. Over the past couple of years, there has been a real movement in all things green and the environmentally sound goodness from green products and services. I was first exposed to the green movement in the IT world, as green computing began it’s ramp up (less power, more efficient comuting resources and fully recyclable computing products). Heck, even here at the office we buy all of our computing equipment from GreenCitizen (www.greencitizen.com). So, it came as no surpise to see this movement in the Real estate world. Eco-friendly green products are now on sale in most major purveyors of home improvement products, encompassing everything from countertops, drywall to windows and flooring tile. Green products such as household cleaners and other eco-friendly goodies crop up all the time. Heck, even the NAR now recognizes the official Green designation, the sustainable housing effort sponsored by the Green REsource Council. (http://www.greenresourcecouncil.org/). So I wondered aloud, how does the Green designation translate into a competitive advantage for the Realtor. After realizing I was talking to myself and that the folks around me were shaking their heads in disapproval, I decided to find out.
For a mere couple of dollars and a three day class, you too can achieve the Green designation, a “comprehensive training and access to cutting-edge resources and tools as well as promoting green excellence, leadership, and consumer awareness within and across multiple real estate disciplines.” (http://www.realtor.org/education/realtor_university/designation, par 13). Sounds great! After all, Kermit the frog was green, and loved being green though it wasn’t easy being green. In any event, sign me up. But wait, I have some questions. Before I drop down the money, time and effort for the green designation, how much business or competitive advantage can I expect from the designation? What marketing tools will I have access to once I achieve the master rank of all that is green? Will this comprehensive knowledge allow me to quickly compute the ROI for my clients investment in green products such as energy efficient windows and THX certified soundproof doors? Will I be admonished with respect after educating my sellers on the benefits super-insulated drywall and the 380-800% increase in insulating value it provides? After all, these numbers do not translate directly to monetary savings, so I would assume that at some point someone is going to ask me what being green really means to them.
In the IT world, being green was a somewhat quantifiable means to an end. Green computing resources utilized lower power and required less heating and cooling than their non-eco friendly, non-green counterparts. IT managers could review the operational cost of the data center resources, calculate the operational cost savings to be achieved by implementing green computing resources, and ultimately understand how long it would take to achieve the return on investment. But in the world of Real Estate, this seems more complicated to achieve. What mathematical formula should I use to promote green awareness across multiple Real Estate Displicines? To find out, I went to the source, the green council website at http://www.greenresourcecouncil.org/. Under the course information, I found the following learning objectives:
Now this makes more sense. The ability to determine the energy efficiency of a property and ways that green products can reduce costs is a key component to convincing buyers, sellers and investors in the merits of green-ness. According to the Healthy House Institute, most folks polled appeared to be “more focused on doing what they can to save money rather than what they can do to reduce energy consumption. “I’m doing a lot to help myself and save money,” one focus group participant said. “I don’t go out of my way to be green.” (http://www.healthyhouseinstitute.com/a_983-Cost_Savings_Energy_Efficient_Appliances_Highlight_Consumer_Focus_on_Green, par 7). This makes sense, after all, most all homeowners and investors want to know whats in it for them. Ultimately, it is how much they will save that will sell them on green products, while the environmental friendliness is simply the green icing on the cake.
So is the world ready for the benefits of the Green Designation for Realtors? Overall, I think that the full benefit of Green products will get realized when their price points align with their non-green brethren. This appears to be two to three years off, from the opinions of my resources. But the cost savings in green products promises to get better and better as technologies and production strategies evolve. And all of us can find benefit in cost savings. After all, even my crusty old dad thought the ‘hippie liberals’ were out of their minds, until they started saving him money.
Filed under: Realtor Trends, Technology
Joe Capote 