In Washington's King County (which includes Seattle) the local multiple listing service (MLS) has had the ability to track environmentally certified houses since 2007. This allows an analysis of how well e-certified houses do against their "standard" brethren. Back in 2008 a local green realtor, GreenWorks Realty, came out with an analysis of the past year's sales and discovered that, indeed, green certified houses do sell for more money per square foot, and in less time. But that was two years ago -- an entire lifetime in this brave new real estate world, right?
Well, recently, the Daily Journal of Commerce published an article by GreenWorks Realty owner Ben Kaufman showing that not only were the 2008 results not an anomaly, but that the results for e-certified houses have actually accelerated over the past couple of years. Some highlights:
Green Homes:
- Sell for a 9.1% premium per square foot compared to non-certified houses.
- Sell in 24% less time
- Have recently increased in value as non-certified homes have decreased in value
- Sell for an overall premium of $92,175
- Are 12.3% smaller than non-certified houses (so that premium is not because they're bigger)
