Greening the MLS Fields to Realize the Full Value of High-Performance Homes

Studies nationwide show energy-efficient homes sell for more and sell faster. But if the buyers don’t know they are looking at a high-performance home, they aren’t going to pay more for it. Almost half of prospective home buyers look at properties online as their first step in the process, which includes reading through the features listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data for that home. Amanda Stinton of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) will present on "Greening the MLS Fields to Realize the Full Value of High-Performance Homes" during the next HBA Sustainability Network conference call on March 21 from 3:30-5 p.m. EDT. The MLS is not one giant oversight system but actually many independent services operating on the local level. Learn how NAR has been working to:

• Ensure that green fields are available to realtors in all MLS systems,
• Raise awareness to increase the proper population of those fields so listing data will consistently be representative of a home’s green features, and
• Educate real estate professionals, appraisers and lenders to better prepare them to use this information to assign a more accurate value and to communicate this value to prospective buyers.

About the HBA Sustainability Network Many HBAs around the country have initiatives focused on sustainability; each HBA implements strategies to serve its membership in its own way but all can share their lessons learned with each other. The HBA Sustainability Network started in 2018 with the purpose of providing a forum to share ideas, initiatives and events, and to connect these groups Federation-wide. This network serves as a resource to build capacity and create efficiencies for state and local HBAs through conference calls. We welcome HBA staff to join our calls (usually the third Tuesday of every other month) to hear from our featured presenter, share your expertise or learn about setting up your own green building-focused programs. The group and calls are open to HBA staff with all levels of experience and involvement. Contact Jaclyn S. Toole, AVP of Sustainability & Green Building, if you are interested in participating.