Is Green the New Black? OR Eco-Marketing, the Latest Trend in the Real Estate World

Well, I just got around to reading the July/August issue of "Commonwealth," the Virginia Association of Realtors' magazine. The cover story is "Green Means Go: Tips for Making and Marketing a Green Home." The premise of the article is "greening" up a home will make it sell faster and for more money. I'm not sure I buy that.

I do believe that eco-consciousness is here to stay, particularly among the post-Boomer demographic. With gas prices sky high and concerns about global warming (thanks, Al Gore!) and other environmental issues on the mind of many people, environmentally friendly practices in ANY industry are trendy. See the GE "Eco-Imagination"commercials as an example. And I do think that the (ahem) younger generations - X's and Y's and Echo Boomers - are much more globally and environmentally conscious than the generations that precede them. See my May 5, 2008 blog post at www.melissasavenko.typepad.com on the YAWNs (for "Young and Wealthy but Normal") and their attempts to minimize their carbon footprints, all the while flying around in their private jets [ASIDE: I just cannot resist that dig, have those people NO sense of irony?].

But the practical question remains: Does it make sense to invest the money to "green" your house when you are getting ready to sell it?

My gut reaction: Nope. Nuh-uh. No way, Jose. If you are going to make some upgrades and changes ANYWAY, such as painting or replacing appliances, and you can make those same changes with a "greener" choice that has only marginal additional cost, then I say go for it. A fresh coat of paint or new appliances would be worth considering for any listing, especially in a down market. Using paints with low volatile organic compounds("VOCs") or buying Energy Star-rated appliances could be a good choice. If you go in that direction, be sure to highlight those greener choices in your marketing literature. But, if these are not changes you planned to make to get your home ready to list, I doubt you will get adequate return on your investment to justify the cost. In other words, don't "green" your home just to sell it.

There may be a particular exception to this rule. I bet for properties that attract a particular buyer demographic, Generations X and Y and Echo Boomers, green could become a big factor in buying habits, all other things being equal. So, for a condominium project catering to first-time home buyers or young professionals, I bet a "green" unit would sell faster than a plain vanilla not-green unit, all other things being equal. But that's pure speculation on my part. I wish there was a way to test that theory.

This is just one woman's opinion. That, and $.25, WON'T get you a cup of coffee.