Will Buyers pay more for Green Certified Homes?
A seller whose home is Green Certified will sell for more than a comparable one that is not. At least, that's the hope of San Francisco's assessor-recorder, Phil Ting, who is developing a green-grade program that would place the green certification on a home's property record. But is this incentive enough for homeowners to improve the efficiency of their home?
San Francisco's Home Improvement & Performance program (SFHIP), offers $9000 per household toward that goal, but to get a home to the level of a LEED certified building (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) I imagine will take much more than that.
Most of us are familiar with the LEED certification of new construction buildings, particularly in the Mission Bay area (The Arterra was one of the first LEED certified green high-rise buildings) that used sustainable materials that are LEED certified as well as recycled content. Floors in the entrance lobby are recycled glass and the wood walls from sustainable forests. The elevator lobby and bamboo materials as well as the interior carpeting are made from sustainable manufacturing techniques. All home appliances, lighting, windows, drainage systems, toilets, water heaters and even plants and greenery are considered to be environmentally friendly. Also, they are completely smoke-free and have low emitting paint and carpeting to sustain air quality.
Making older homes green-grade certified is a noble goal and many of my buyers are interested in these features. But the question is, if a homeowner goes to the trouble and expense to make their home green certified, would a buyer pay more for it? How much do YOU value these qualities? Would you pay another $10,000? $20,000? More? Less?
[caption id="attachment_388" align="alignright" width="300" caption="San Francisco Residential Green Certification - is it of value to YOU?"][/caption]