Are agents using “green” to get more bucks?
The slumping housing market is bringing out the creativity in real estate agents, who are willing to do most anything to earn more commissions in what has become a very tough profession.
The latest? Several real estate agents are calling themselves “green” agents, promoting their knowledge of environmentally friendy construction, energy efficient appliances and alternative heating and cooling systems. These agents promise to help their buyers find green-built homes, and their sellers turn their existing residences into ones that are more environmentally friendly.
Sara Schaefer Munoz with RealEstateJournal.com writes about this trend here. The story also points out the somewhat dubious nature of “green” real estate agents. Some in the story question whether agents are really concerned about energy efficiency and eco-friendly construction, or are more interested in doing whatever they can to increase their marketability.
Personally, I have to side with the doubters here. You can’t tell me that a “green” real estate agent would advise a client to not purchase a sprawling mansion that gobbles up huge tracts of land and sucks up untold amounts of energy in favor of a more modest, environmentally friendly home.
Sorry to be so negative on this one. But I know how desperate real estate agents are becoming during the nation’s prolonged housing slump. The “green” angle seems more like a ploy than anything else.
Tags: environmentally friendly construction, green construction, RealEstateJournalRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Breaking News, Buying a Property, Educational Tools, Insights and Commentaries, Selling a Property
2 opinions for Are agents using “green” to get more bucks?
cindy*staged4more
Feb 22, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I have to agree with the doubters as well. I run a boutique staging company in San Francisco bay area and I have to say some cities around bay around are really lax in regards to what they consider as a “green” business. A friend of mine told me all she did was filled out a form and say that she recycles, couple weeks later, viola! She received a certificate in the mail that says she is a “green” business. I feel that “green” has become the new buzz word.
Great post,
Cindy
Dan
Feb 27, 2008 at 11:59 am
Hi, Cindy:
Thanks for the comments. I think I side with the doubters, too. I find it hard to believe that “green” is really about buying and consuming anyway. Is it “green” to build an energy efficient house if you’ve ripped up old wetlands or replaced an already standing house to do it?
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