Selling Green
When you are an owner of a house with green features and you want to sell your home, you may feel more confident seeking the professional help of a Realtor with a Green designation who is a member of the Go Green Challenge.
It is important to work together with such a Realtor to establish what features of your home are considered green and what the added value is of these green features in relation to different groups of potential buyers. We can also advise you on how to improve on the (existing) green aspects of your home in order to add even more value to them. Together with your input we can establish a current market value for your green home by looking at comparable recently sold homes. After that, it is important to market your home and its green features as effectively as possible, so we will attract all types of buyers with their specific (green) buying reasons.
In general, it is important that you can visually show potential buyers the green aspects of your home. Adding an energy guide rating and report to your listing is an impressive way to market your home. Having appliances with an energystar rating is attractive for buyers, as well. Make sure you have your energy bills ready, so you can objectively show how energy efficient your home is. If you have features that are made from sustainable or healthy products (for instance bamboo flooring or low VOC paint), make sure you have the receipts or promotional brochures on hand. We have to watch out for engaging in “greenwashing”. Greenwashing means making inaccurate statements about what is a green feature.
If you are considering selling green, we will make sure that we will stress the green features of your home on the MLS, on our website, in our E-newsletters and with an attractive full color brochure. We will provide you with your own unique web address to feature your home and will make a professional video of your home to post on the internet and on all our social media outlets.
Besides writing about selling green, we also have post about and buying green.
Another good source about selling green and green properties in general is the CMHC.