'Green' home vs non-green home...

Profile picture for SoCal Appraiser
Realtors = Im appraising a fully 'green' and 'smart' home in the LA area, where the median home value is $700,000, within two miles of the beach.

HOW much premium, roughly, would YOU estimate there to be for this home over a typical home of same size, condition, location, etc. This home is brand new.

Don't worry, I won't hold you to any guesses, and no they are not selling....
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August 22 2010 - Los Angeles
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Answers (16)

Profile picture for Pasadenan
As mentioned on Market Place Money today, on National Public Radio, the "green" home is the "existing" home, as removal of materials is not "green", and installation of new materials is not "green".

But perhaps you are talking LEAD certified instead?  To what level?  LEAD does give some credit for existing structure re-use, but not sufficient when compared with actual energy and resources involved.

And is someone really getting all LED lighting throughout the house and exterior now?  The technology is only starting to become readily available, and fixture manufacturers are still incorporating this change.  The mercury in the florescent lamps is not good for the environment.

Solar?  Photovoltaics?  Substantially less than 10% efficient.  Photosynthesis is substantially more efficient, and if converted to methane a good source for generating power in fuel cells directly.

And what are you doing for heating and cooling?  Homes 90 years old or more often did natural heating and cooling saving substantially more then many new energy efficient heat pumps and air conditioners.
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November 17 2010
Profile picture for amboy1
I am an agent and a licensed builder.
If you are going to stay in the house for over ten years
(most likely you wont) you would probably barley break even.

Solar grids are expensive for the return on your money.

What I do see happening is creative green building.
Recycling of material, etc.
But overall it is more than %10 cost to build Green vs Standard.


I believe that Green building can increase the price of a home.
Context is important. You would need a Green Buyer for a Green Seller.

A-

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November 17 2010
Profile picture for Mike Morgen
Green Homes I would say are similar to cars like the Toyota Prius. They are nice to drive but when you look at the payback versus the upfront cost it in no way makes sense. Heaven forbid that you have something go wrong with your smart home and have to have someone fix it. I think the problem with smart homes is that utility costs are just not high enough for people to really think that there is any value. But people are paying big bucks for the toyota prius! So they are out there.
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September 27 2010
Profile picture for the_country_hick
Solar has about a 20 year lifespan. Amazingly enough it also has about 20 years of payments. That makes it neutral in value at best . If the solar was more than 7 years old it would have not much above zero value to me as it wears out. 

A smart house is not worth anything to someone who is not so smart. Who wants a house smarter than you are?  

A smart house for many people would be a waste. Nice to brag about but has no real value to them or their lifestyle.

I would doubt the added costs of construction would gather 25% of those costs in a sale. Just try to get an appraiser to add anything for them for your mortgage. It could be almost impossible.
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September 27 2010
Profile picture for brockharris
If they're not selling, what does it matter? :-) In my experience, "green" is a feature - it helps sell the home, but most buyer's aren't willing to pay more for it. I would value it only as a function of the savings on utitlies, on a 10X GRM.
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September 27 2010
Hi Vince,

That's a tough one...perhaps the U.S. Green Building Council
can provide some guidance to help you derive a premium on your 'smart' home.
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August 23 2010
Profile picture for wetdawgs
I would use 5 year utility savings to calculate the percentage premium it may add.
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August 23 2010
Profile picture for broker_GRI
Wow Vince,
You really have your work cut out for you,
I wouldn't pretend to know how many years to use in the calculation.
Is there some place to find precedence for that type of thing?.

You may have to treat the other features the same way you would when considering quality of construction and surface finishes.

Let us know how it turns out
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August 23 2010
Profile picture for SoCal Appraiser
Its as self powered as it can be given todays solar cells and the occupants usage, but Im sure not completely. Yes, calculating the worth based on potential savings would be one way I suspect, I just wonder if one would use 10 yrs, or longer ??
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August 23 2010
You say fully green and smart, just how green and smart is that? is it fully self powered? Is is a new secure house with built in hidden cameras and auto alert?
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August 23 2010
Great question. I think based on Realtor_GRI's response makes the most sense. What features are going to feed back into the house on an economic scale. Saved energy costs could translate into a higher house premium. Recyled water and other features mean the same. I figure the % of energy saved x utlity costs x 10 years. This is a possible equation, but I am very curious as to anyone who has direct experience with this. 
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August 23 2010
Profile picture for broker_GRI
Vince,

Is the Solar system capable of running the entire house

and charging the car?

Does it sell back to "the grid" or is it completely off with battery banks?

 

Exactly how "smart" is the house?

 

Can you check on the kids via your computer at work, while getting the oven to reheat and checking the fridge for missing meal ingredients to pick up on your way home?

 

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August 22 2010
Profile picture for SoCal Appraiser
The 'green' home in question was really built from the ground up, as its new construction. And its a 'smart' home. It has state of the art green features, including solar, water recycling, plug in for electric cars, insulated everything, blah blah blah. Regardless of cost, Im just wondering the % premium in the marketplace today if purchased. I wonder if it would even be 10%...
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August 22 2010
Profile picture for broker_GRI

Vincent,

Green seems to have such a broad use these days.

 

I watched a show the other day where a couple decided to buy a home and then proceeded to rip out perfectly good existing material to replace it with "green".

It seemed rather wasteful/counter productive.

Would the "upgrades" they made increase the property value?

example=Beautiful hardwoods replaced with non toxic emitting flooring.

 

Is there a quantifiable difference in utility costs? That could transfer into real value.

 

You mentioned "Smart house" I know someone who installs those systems and they could be tens of thousands or over $100k depending on the size of the house and complexity of the system.

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August 22 2010
Profile picture for sgmmgs
I agree! This is a great question.  There's definately value there, but I don't know how much....
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August 22 2010
Profile picture for Mills Realty
Great question and I am interested in reading the responses.  My feeling is there would definately be a premium, but before I put a number on it I would want to know how much the green upgrades cost to install.

Simon Mills
Mills Realty
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August 22 2010
 

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