Portland Green Homes Outperform Non-Certified Homes For Fourth Straight Year

Typography
The desire for homes that conform to the green building standards of organizations such as Earth Advantage, ENERGY STAR, or LEEDS is growing throughout the world, and nowhere is that more evident than Portland, Oregon. For the fourth straight year in a row, green certified homes have outperformed non-certified homes in the Portland metro region, according to a study by the Earth Advantage Institute.

The desire for homes that conform to the green building standards of organizations such as Earth Advantage, ENERGY STAR, or LEEDS is growing throughout the world, and nowhere is that more evident than Portland, Oregon. For the fourth straight year in a row, green certified homes have outperformed non-certified homes in the Portland metro region, according to a study by the Earth Advantage Institute.

!ADVERTISEMENT!

The annual study found that existing homes with a sustainable certification sold for 30 percent more than homes without one, according to sales data provided by the Portland Regional Multiple Listing Service. This finding is based on the sales of existing homes between May 1, 2010 and April 30, 2011 in Multnomah, Clackamas, Columbia, and Washington Counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington.

The study also examined how newly constructed homes built to sustainable certifications performed, and found that they sold for 8 percent more than new non-certified homes in the same six-county area.

The Earth Advantage Institute defined a "certified home" as a home that received an Earth Advantage New Homes, ENERGY STAR, or LEED for Homes designation, or a combined Earth Advantage/ENERGY STAR certification.

"This is important news for builders and home buyers alike," said Dakota Gale, the sustainable finance program manager at the Earth Advantage Institute, in a press release. "While it must be noted that the data are supplied by real estate agents themselves through standard RMLS forms, and are based on averages, not comparables, we can still see a consistent trend that third-party certification continues to result in a higher sales price, even during the past year when home sales were down."

Article continues: http://www.matternetwork.com/2011/6/portland-green-homes-outperform-non.cfm