Emphasize the "Green" of Your Listings Using the MLS

A recent Harris Interactive poll found that 49% of homebuyers said that eco-friendly features were important in a home, opposed to 31% who thought luxury items were important when looking to purchase a home.¹ For potential homebuyers, the trend towards green features means lowering monthly bills, becoming more environmentally friendly and adopting a healthier lifestyle. And because these features help to improve quality of life, TREND wants to make it easier for you to promote these benefits.

Emphasize the Green in Your Property

TREND offers a number of ways for you to highlight the green features of your property. You can choose from a number of features that are present in the home, such as Energy Efficient Appliances and a Geothermal Heat Pump. You can upload green related documents to your listings like an Energy Audit or a LEED report. You can also add green specific remarks to your listings, allowing you to, in more detail, describe the benefits of the property.

Choose Green Features to Make Your Property More Appealing

These green features can be added to your listings when you enter them into the MLS.

Add Green Documents to Your Published Listings

Once you publish your listing to the MLS, these green documents can be added for members of the TREND community to see.

• Energy Star: To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.hm_index
• Energy Audit: An audit helps you assess how much energy your home uses and evaluates what measures you can take to improve efficiency in the home. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits
• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): Provides verification that that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1988
• Other Green Documents: If there are any other green documents, not listed above, that can benefit homebuyers and the potential sale of your property.

Use Green Remarks to Attract Potential Homebuyers

Use the new Green section on the remarks page to go into precise detail about the eco-friendly features of your listing. Use this section to entice and grab the attention of potential homebuyers, helping them to see the advantages they can expect from the home. Use this section to promote the green features that don’t appear in the features section, and show potential clients the benefits like money saving appliances and environmentally friendly heating options.

Promote Yourself as Green

You have the ability to promote yourself as a green agent using the GREEN professional designation, which is nationally recognized and supported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In order to receive this designation, you must complete a series of courses provided by NAR. Once you have completed those requirements, you can add the GREEN designation to your TREND profile. This information can then be viewed on your E-Card and used as an effective marketing tool. If you would like to learn more about the green designation and how to earn it, visit the Green Resource Council website.

Studies have shown that two-thirds² of consumers are paying attention to green homes and buildings and recognize the cost savings they can gain. Take advantage of everything green TREND has to offer to help advertise these features, attract more eco-conscious homebuyers and create a more complete and detailed listing.

¹ Ted Cushman. July 18, 2008. 'Green' Features Beat Out Luxury Amenities in Buyer Poll. Retrieved August 18, 2009 from http://www.builderonline.com/green-building/green-features-beat-out-luxury-amenities.aspx
² McGraw Hill SmartMarket Report 2007, Green Homeowner Issue http://www.greenresourcecouncil.org/earn_nars_green_designation.cfm