One benefit of a deep recession is that marketing minds prosper.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just became King of the Mountain in my book.  The NAR is offering its members a tool kit that will have a dynamic outcome on the environment and the residential housing industry. The  NAR’s new Green MLS Tool Kit shows members how to implement ”a green initiative” within their local multiple listing services (MLS). Once this kind of software is installed across the country, searching for sustainable housing features will be as standard as choosing the number of bedrooms. In other words, green is going, going, going … almost mainstream.

When individual MLS offices adopt the initiative will depend on each MLS systems’ management staff’s ability to crank up.  With the difficulty sales agents have had locating and documenting sustainable features – amid growing demand by buyers and tenants - the locals had better hurry. Although it has become a generic word, ”Realtor” is a trademark of the NAR.  Local memberships have suffered from the extreme contraction in the housing sector, but this added value should spur new memberships in these local multiple listing services.

The GreentheMLS.org website is also a primer on green features, amenities, certifications and sustainability information for its Realtors. It provides summaries of the certifying organizations, solid resources and accompanying links including:

• Home rating systems like the Living Building Challenge, LEED & ENERGYSTAR
• Sample forms for identifying and classifying green features
• Walkscore and Gapscore property information
• EPA WaterSense and EPA IndoorAirPlus

All of the fundamentals of sustainability are touted in the new program reflecting a growing industry recognition that : (1) green property features are desirable, (2) have an increasing market value, (3) accelerate sales and rentals and (4) command a higher dollar premium.

To accommodate search engine optimization and avoid typing errors, the new MLS system suggests using the ‘pick’ system rather than agent narrative.  The important benefits of codifying and standardizing these features, however, expand beyond member Realtors. These lists will become more easily searchable for appraisers as well.

Conforming sales data is invaluable to appraisers to better determine which property sales have comparable energy efficiencies and other relevant healthy-home attributes.  As the data is compiled it will document the premium paid in rents and purchase prices for sustainability features, in turn making it much more probable that an appraisal will reflect green status within that value.

As these features are added to property listings and profiles they tend to become standards, which should further promote acceptance of sustainability features by the lending community.  A side benefit will be realized as the sales data compiled documents the premium paid in rents and purchase price for sustainability features. It will also help overcome the upfront premium issue of green building  (more efficient/expensive HVAC systems and greater building envelope expense) by showing added market value at the back end.

The NAR’s suggested fields for generic green features include these sub-categories:

• Location: walkability and transportation access
• Energy efficiency: insulation, construction, thermostat controls, etc.
• Energy generation: solar, wind, geothermal
• Water conservation: landscaping, flow control, reclamation
• Indoor air quality: filtration, ventilation, contamination, no or low-VOC materials
• Sustainability: recycled, renewables, recyclable, biodegradable and conserving materials

The more detailed and comprehensive list of specific green attributes given ‘pick’ space can be found here.  Obviously as more technologies come on line and greater innovation brings ever more efficient materials, construction practices and systems, these categories will be moving targets.

The tool kit is also meant to protect the NAR and individual Realtors from under-selling or over-selling a property’s green potential inadvertently and/or the associated legal risk of that misrepresentation on the MLS.  The NAR strongly recommends that local MLS offices create a mechanism for documenting any certifications of properties declared in the listing.  An example they provide is to set a four day grace period within which agents must produce home certification documentation in written form or forfeit the right to list the designation.

Fortunately, there is a great deal of flexibility offered by the Green MLS Tool Kit to reflect the very different features valued by residents in different geographic regions.  There are also options as to whether the information is segregated or included within the standard MLS feature lists.  For instance,  under the Roofing category, green/living roof, reflective roof coating and TPO membranes can be added to composition, concrete, rock/stone, shake, shingle and wood.

Making this information more accessible will also light a sustainable fire under the fence-sitting owners of multifamily and single-family properties who have been dawdling while weighing the return-on-investment for energy efficiency upgrades and water conservation improvements.

The kit was developed through the NAR’s collaboration with the Appraisal Institute, the Council of Multiple Listing Services, EcoBroker International, Enterprises Community Partners, Inc., the National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. Green Building Council, NeighborWorks America, and the Traverse Area Association of Realtors.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Rent Control Suppresses Sustainability
• Renting Outlook Shifts
• The Eco-Friendly Edge