Green Buildings: What’s the Difference and Does It Matter?

I found this article in the Colorado Realtors Winter 2012 Newsletter and would like to share it with you.  Claudia Williams is Durango’s first Ecobroker, certified and trained to market and sell green properties, both energy efficient and properties built or retrofitted with green features.  This article was written by Taylor Watkins, a Certified Residential Appraiser and, among others, comments on the valuation of green elements in appraising homes.

This article will introduce some of the elements of green building and the ways in which they may relate to
appraisal practice. This is a very large field, so the list is not exhaustive, but it does provide a place to start
understanding green buildings. There has been a lot of talk recently about the popularity of residential, industrial, and commercial “green”, or environmentally responsible and resource-efficient, building structures. There have also been many published articles in which builders, brokers, and owners claim that appraisers undervalue green
properties. As appraisers know, we don’t create the market for specific property types; we analyze available,
appropriate market data to reflect the actions of the market. In the case of green buildings, however,
perhaps some green building advocates may not clearly understand the systematic appraisal valuation
procedure an appraiser follows to answer a client’s questions about real property value, and some appraisers
don’t clearly understand valuation issues involved with green buildings.
Green building is relatively new in many parts of the country, but it has been around for decades.
There are several different reasons for the recent interest in green building. Rising energy costs have made
green building more attractive, but as we will see, energy efficiency is only one aspect of green building.
Increased awareness of the principles of sustainability is another reason. Governmental support of green
building measures, from storm water management codes to energy efficient appliance incentives, has also
helped move green building into the mainstream.

What is Green Building?

One of the difficulties in understanding green building is the lack of a complete and accurate definition that
is commonly accepted among the varied professions and organizations that deal with green buildings. One
example of a green building definition comes from the US Environmental Protection Agency:
“Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally
responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction,
operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the
classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known as
a sustainable or high performance building.”
Green building can generally be thought of as a building practice that that focuses on the
building structure’s resource efficiency (i.e., high performance) and the health of its occupants and the
environmental impact throughout the structure’s entire life cycle from its design through its occupancy and
eventual deconstruction.

Viewing a building through its entire life cycle is not a new idea, but it can lead to different choices in
the way it is constructed, and this is part of what distinguishes green buildings. These choices tend to gravitate
to the following basic elements of green building: site, water, energy, materials, and indoor air quality.
Although these elements are not exclusive to green building, the way in which green buildings address them
is different from conventional buildings. By understanding these elements and how they differentiate green
buildings, appraisers will attain the necessary competence in the valuation of green buildings and will also be
able to participate in the growing conversation surrounding them. Recall that USPAP requires competency
and being competent requires knowledge and experience to produce credible assignment results.

Site Element

Overriding site concerns are the preservation of open space and habitat protection when possible. In
addition, green site planning and development focuses on the site’s proximity to transportation and other
linkages, access to sun and/or shade as the climate dictates, and building placement on the site to take
advantage of solar, water, or wind-oriented resources.

Appraisal Practice: The traditional view of location applies here in terms of access to amenities, but
with additional emphasis on proximity to mass transportation, increased density, and open, or green spaces.
This is because proximity to mass transit improves air quality due to lower vehicle emissions, and lowers fuel
and energy consumption during occupancy of the building. Additionally, increased density can help protect
open space.

Water Element

Water is a resource that is actively managed and conserved in many green
buildings. Water that comes to the property from the local provider is conserved as
much as possible inside and outside the building. Storm water is all the water that falls
on the site as precipitation. In some cases, storm water is captured and retained
for reuse, either inside or outside the building. Drought tolerant landscaping is also
encouraged.
Appraisal Practice: In theory, water consumption and cost can be measured
and thus quantified in most cases. Especially in arid portions of the country or areas
with high sewage disposal costs, savings from reducing and reusing water in some
cases can lead to operational savings.

Energy Element

Energy comes to most buildings in the form of natural gas or electricity. While it is only one of the elements
of green building, it gets a lot of attention. This is because it is measurable, both in terms of consumption
and cost, and because there are many incentives available for energy efficient materials, systems, and
appliances. Unlike some of the other elements of green building, energy efficiency and related cost savings
are important to cost conscious buyers in some areas of the country.
Appraisal Practice: Like water, energy consumption is measurable, so if less energy is consumed by a
property, that savings may be a benefit that accrues to the property. It is also a benefit that will keep paying
forward throughout the life of that building or that particular energy efficient system or appliance.

Materials Element

Green building materials have entered the mainstream in many areas of the country over the past several
years. These materials again focus on resource efficiency in their composition, like being made of recycled
materials; in their production, such as being locally made or minimally processed; or in their use, meaning
that they can lead to less energy consumption while in place in a building.
Appraisal Practice: Some green materials may be more durable than their conventional counterparts,
leading to less maintenance over time. This can lead to lower operational costs and also perhaps to a longer
physical life. The proper material to use, green or not, depends on the application.

Indoor Air Quality Element

Indoor Air Quality (“IAQ”) has been getting a lot more attention lately, but it has always been an integral part
of green building. Particularly with commercial and governmental buildings, landlords, tenants, and owners
have become interested in the effects of good IAQ on workers. Studies are also looking into the effects on
student performance in school buildings with superior IAQ.
Appraisal Practice: If IAQ becomes measurable in some way, then its positive
effects on occupants may enter into the appraisal process using paired sales or
statistical analysis. Pending the availability of that type of measurable data, it
is still possible, indeed appropriate, to consider a qualitative technique known
as “relative comparison analysis” when using the sales comparison approach.

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For more information on building green and evaluating homes with green features please don’t hesitate to contact Claudia Williams, Blue Ribbon Properties, Durango Real Estate. 970.247.8388. claudia@blueribbondurango.com.

More online resoures:

Green Home Resources at greenhomesforsale.com

EPA Green Homes – http://www.epa.gov/greenhomes/

US Green Building Council – http://greenhomeguide.com/

Locally here in Durango you can join the “Green Business Round Table”  hosted once a month by the San Juan Citizens Alliance

For information on making you La Plata County Home more energy efficient contact Four Core – www.fourcore.org/