With consumers becoming increasingly aware of energy efficiency of their homes, and studies are consistently showing that green features are appealing to homebuyers, real estate practitioners have been on the forefront of the movement. For years, agents and brokers have pushed for data fields in the MLS that reflect the green options available in homes – solar panels, Energy Star appliances, charging stations for electric vehicles, native landscaping, shade control, grey water systems, rainwater cisterns, low E windows, high quality insulation, and so forth.
The next evolution in this green-ification of our homes is being able to search for a home based on those preferences. MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data) is Chicago’s MLS, the largest in the nation, and they’ve just announced that they will be syndicating green and energy related information to realtor.com and Homes.com to increase the availability of green data. As of publication, we have not been able to verify which MLS was the first to syndicate this type of data, but MRED is among the first, if not the first.
Half of all Millennials believe buying a green home makes them a better person
Green data isn’t trendy, it’s not a hipster concern, it’s something that generations have been brought up to care about. Consider this – in a recent study, three out of five Millennials state that reusing old materials in their home improvement projects is important, half said that going green with their homes made them better people, and 41 percent say they already live a “green” lifestyle.
Further, this generation inherently understands that green features in a home increase the value, and other generations are on board with the green movement too. The real estate industry is responding appropriately, and with MRED’s move to increase the visibility of this data, we anticipate a ripple effect of green data syndication.
Consumers are keen to be green
In a statement, MRED said, “Consumers today are demanding greater access to this information to make more environmentally informed choices about homes to purchase. Brokers having this information available on their listings helps to promote the sale of those properties. Specifically, data regarding the Green Features of homes and energy/green ratings, available in homes listed in MRED’s MLS system, is now displayed on two of the most visited real estate sites in the country.”
“MRED sets the standard for MLSs in many ways,” said MRED President/Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Jensen. “We’ve challenged ourselves to step up and lead the way on Green and energy information as well. This is a great benefit to our own real estate professionals, but I’m proud that this is also a public service for the many consumers interested in Chicagoland real estate.”
“Providing practical assistance to our real estate professionals is one of our highest priorities at MRED,” said Jeff Lasky, Director of Communications and Training. “Rebecca Jensen has made clear to me her strong commitment to providing more and better Green and Energy information to our real estate professionals, and through them to the consumer. This information being displayed on Realtor.com and Homes.com is just the start. Everybody wins.”
#GreenRE
Lani is the COO and News Director at The American Genius, has co-authored a book, co-founded BASHH, Austin Digital Jobs, Remote Digital Jobs, and is a seasoned business writer and editorialist with a penchant for the irreverent.
