Why Energy Efficiency Details Belong in Your MLS

Realtors, appraisers and prospective home buyers all rely on the MLS to learn about home prices and features. However, energy efficiency details about homes are not a standard part of the MLS. In order to obtain the most accurate pricing on a home with energy efficient systems, the onus is on real estate professionals to include them in the home listing.

Here are the Benefits of Including Energy Efficiency Details in Listings

As the costs of energy efficient technologies drop, more owners will retrofit existing homes with them. They will also become standard in newly constructed properties.

Real estate professionals will help themselves and their clients by making a habit of regularly including green features in the homes they sell. This will enable them to obtain the most accurate valuations. Additionally, the more homes that list their green features, the easier it will be to identify comparable properties.

In the end, agents, buyers and sellers all want complete transparency when viewing home listings.

Not All MLS Forms are Created Equal

Energy-efficient resources are relatively new home features. MLS pages don’t always account for them. A 2017 survey by REALTORS ® and Sustainability found that just 43 percent of respondents were working with MLS forms that contain data fields for green attributes. However, 38 percent of those surveyed didn’t know if green data fields were available on their MLS forms.

Fortunately, the playing field will be leveled in 2018 green data fields will become standard across all MLS systems.

This Demographic Cares a Lot About Energy Efficiency

Millennials compose approximately 1/3 of the new homeowner market. They are very interested in energy efficiency as a way of being socially conscious while limiting utility costs. According to HousingWire, energy-efficient appliances make the list of the six most desired home features for Generation Y.

Omit Green Features at Your Own Risk

Failing to list energy-efficient home features can negatively affect appraisals. That means lower sales prices for homeowners and smaller commissions for agents. When features like solar panels or smart thermostats aren’t listed, owners struggle to see the value they’ve added to their homes.

Including green data is critical to understanding trends for homes that tout energy-efficient features. This includes data such as time on the market and sales margins. Prospective buyers like Millennials who don’t find energy-efficient features (even when they exist) while searching the MLS are likely to look elsewhere for their dream home.

Just as every little detail counts when staging a home for sale, the same logic applies to ensuring that you list all of your green features in your MLS.

Search Boston Homes for Sale and look at the More Filters menu for Green Certified and other energy efficiency filters.