According to a new report by the National Association of Realtors®, a majority (63%) of agents and brokers find promoting energy efficiency in listings to be very or somewhat valuable. The report, titled “2023 REALTORS® and Sustainability Report – Residential,” explores sustainability issues that the real estate industry is currently facing.
NAR Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Jessica Lautz notes that the importance of embracing their clients’ sustainability interests is an important consideration. Buyers increasingly seek homes that reduce their environmental footprint or monthly energy costs. Therefore, promoting green features and energy information to future home buyers has significant value.
The report also found that half of Realtors® were directly involved with a property with green features in the past 12 months, either on the buyer or seller side. Additionally, almost half (48%) of agents and brokers noted that consumers showed a high interest in sustainability. Meanwhile, 32% of agents and brokers were concerned about climate change’s impact on the real estate market.
The report also reveals that a growing number of clients consider environmental risk when making purchasing decisions, with 17% of respondents indicating that between one-quarter to more than three-quarters of their clients consider environmental risk in the purchase process.
Regarding high-performance homes, approximately one-fifth (17%) of Realtors® found that these homes had an increase of 1%-10% of the dollar value offered compared to similar, non-high-performance homes.
The report concludes by noting that good stewardship of the land and built environment is critical to the real estate industry and Realtors® who can speak with authority about a home’s sustainable features and convey their value, health benefits, energy savings, durability, and operation costs provide a significant advantage in every market.
