Going Green: How Eco-Friendly Home Owners Could Affect Real Estate Market Trends

For a broker or agent facing industry challenges along with the rest of the real estate market, home improvement and lifestyle trends are just as important to take into consideration as the stats and numbers provided by real estate market analysis.  As the economy continues to play a part in the decisions of first time home buyers and property owners alike, a trend that real estate professionals have caught on to is a lifestyle changing one that goes beyond recycling and eating organic: Going Green, and making your home more eco-friendly for your wallet’s sake (and the environment’s!)

In a recent article posted on HouseLogic, Mark St. John Erickson, a writer for the Daily Press, shares his experiences as a homeowner who sought to improve the energy efficiency of his house in Virginia, which was built in 1924.  Older homes, though popular for their vintage appeal and retro designs, often come with the expectation that their antique structure and features will at some point need a facelift for the sake of aesthetics, functionality or both.  The heating bill is often steep in older homes, which can be a detail easily overlooked for those looking at older homes when buying a home for the first time.

Starting with improving the insulation in his attic, Mark began the gradual process of improving the less-than-charming attributes of his house that affected its ability to retain heat and remain eco-friendly.  With renovations underway, one thing became clear to Mark: Though it’s easy to pinpoint problem areas in your older home, it may take more than adding insulation or replacing windows to “green” your home and leave it energy efficient post-remodel.  “Going green in a vintage house means exploring and fixing the pieces of a much more complicated puzzle,” says Mark in his article.  “Hidden air leaks, an outdated boiler, and a vented crawl space were just some of the things sucking away even more of our energy dollars than inadequate insulation.”

After tossing old panes for new storm windows, replacing the 30-year-old gas boiler with a modern, high-efficiency model and indirect hot water tank, installing a programmable thermostat to save on heating costs while no one’s at home and insulating the walls with cellulose, Mark increased his home’s “green”, eco-friendly factor by reducing its use of energy and electricity.  In addition to saving the environment one minor home improvement at a time, Mark’s pocketing cash from the noticeably lighter electric and heating bills that used to frequent his vintage homestead.

These green home improvements, which capitalize on lifestyle trends and resourceful solutions to counter the economic slump some first time home buyers may find themselves in, are encouraging developments in real estate industry news. With vintage-chic inspiring prospective buyers to look for older homes and green remodeling stories like this one making the rounds, real estate professionals will undoubtedly find an interesting angle when it comes to the marketing and sale of older, eco-friendly homes.

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Mark W. Martin is President of 2M Realty. He is active in real estate sales and develops land in the Houston real estate market. Areas of current development include the Conroe real estate, Porter real estate, and the New Caney real estate markets.

2M Realty has simple goals in mind: Simplify the real estate process, reduce stress for Buyers and Sellers, earn client trust, and keep client trust. These simple but lofty goals are backed by over 20-years experience as a Texas real estate broker and Houston Realtor.