Some are infill near Downtown are others are in the Burbs.  I mention this because looking at the reports that I do every month, it gives us the impression that there is not a whole lot going on – when in reality, its appears that it will start to pop up everywhere. 

I am currently in the process of creating a site where I can add floorplans and price sheets for Green-er Communities and Projects around town.  If you know of some amazing green secrets, we would love to hear about them!

Now, historically speaking October is a rather quiet month for Real Estate -  November and December may pick up a little bit – but overall not a whole lot of change until the next year.  Here are the October statistics that we have been following – And a quick question posed to you..Would you like to hear an overall Real Estate Report each month? 

Next month will be month #4 – I’ll start tracking with graphs so that it is easier to follow the change from each month.

• New construction – 125
• Resale – 111

• New Construction – 10
• Resale – 5

• New construction – 12
• Resale -5

• New construction -2
• Resale – 2

•  Active on the market – 905
• Sold in October – 131

• Active on the market – 671
• Sold in October – 95

• Active on the Market – 266
• Sold in October – 50

Here is the first ever Houston Green Real Estate Market Report.  All data compiled through the Houston MLS.

Tankless Hot Water Heaters

Active on the Market

New Construction:  Jumped to 104 from 85
Resale and Rentals:  Jumped to 97 from 58

Sold in September

New Construction:  23 under contract or sold
Resale and Rentals:  12 under contract or sold

Solar Hot Water/PV

Active on the Market

New Construction:  10 down from 15
Resale and Rentals:  5 up from 3

Sold in September

New Construction:  7 under contract or sold
Resale and Rentals:  1 under contract

Insulated/Low-E Windows

Active on the Market

Built Prior to 2000:  1445 from 1850 last month
Built Prior to 1990:  830 from 1090 last month

Sold in September (Including Rentals)

Prior to 2000:  506
Prior to 1990:  308

HVAC Greater than 13 SEER – Not New Construction

Active on the Market:  491 from 455 last month

Sold in September:  172

While I would love to post information here regarding the LEED Certified, NAHB Certified and other really cool stuff such as Geothermal – It is obvious that the numbers showing and some of the listings are not accurate.  The numbers would be incorrect.  For November I will attempt to research these numbers to and give a report on my findings.

For now,  I can tell you that the number of New Construction Single Family and Townhomes popping up around town with Green Certifications is rising every quarter.

If you have a tip on a really cool Green home coming up on the market email me with the Breaking News!  Steph@TurningHoustonGreen.com

For one this is amazing because our appraisers could REALLY use this information to start PROPERLY appraising our Greener Homes.  For Two, this will allow us to tell our Home Owners in the future what features will actually pay off in the long run!

For now, the word is still getting out – I doubt that all homes with Green features are being noted as such.  There is also evidence that some of the homes are tagged incorrectly -Not even 90 days in to having these fields available there is not enough data yet to state whether or not homes with certain features definitely sell for more money than those without -

BUT, there IS enough data to show certain trends that we as Real Estate Professionals are going to start seeing more and more.

Personally I have been amazed at the number of homes in the Houston area that have Solar PV or Solar Hot Water.  The other trend that appears to grow by the week in MLS is the number of homes with Tankless Hot Water Heaters and Older homes with Low-E windows.

Each month we can start tracking more and more but for now here are some numbers on trends for new and existing homes.

Tankless Hot Water Heaters-

• 58 Resales and Rentals
• 85 New Construction

Solar Hot Water/PV-

• 3 Resale
• 15 New Construction

Insulated/Low-E Windows-

• 1850 Built Prior to 2000
• 1090 of which built prior to 1990

HVAC Greater than 13 SEER-

• 455 not New Construction

These are just a few of the new fields available and while they are not on the Public Search side of HAR.com yet – It is a relief to have them available to the agents.  I believe as we continue to track the statistics we will find that the majority of ALL home buyers want Green features – Their requests for those features are just disguised as another term.

Coming up next month?  How many of these homes right here listed will go under contract in September?

If you would like a list of any of these particular homes available, homes with any other green features or for a marketing plan for your specific property I can be reached at Steph@TurningHoustonGreen.com -

Well, According to the NAR 2008 Home Buyer and Seller Profile:

“Environmentally friendly features also were important, cited by 90 percent of buyers. Heating and cooling costs were of primary importance, followed by energy efficient appliances and energy efficient lighting.”

This statistic was amazing to me.  Of a 55 point checklist that I read today this is the one that really caught my eye.  90% ?  What a HUGE number.  This seemed like an amazing statistic to share.

If you are considering selling your home, this is something that you may want to keep in mind.  Even if you are not thinking about selling for a year or two or three, when you are making any changes to your home you may want to think about this- 90%.

Trends are changing- It’s not all about Granite countertops, Hardwood floors and Designer Color paint.  Home buyers are looking more and more in to the Performance of a home.  They are looking at the maintenance required and the out of pocket costs to maintain it on a daily basis.  It is also likely that this trend will not go away.

Home buyers are looking at not having to paint siding every 2-3 years- Maybe the A/C system changed out already and for it to be High Efficiency or Updated light fixtures and appliances that are also Energy Star Rated.

Make sure that your home is standing out from the rest and it helps to have a listing agent that can point out these items and explain the benefits to Potential Buyers.  Maybe offer an Energy Audit to show proof?  I offer them for my clients.

When it gets down to it, Green updates/upgrades may not only help your home sell quicker, but they will likely add value.

Hat tip to Lani Anglin-Rosales for pointing out the 2008 Survey and her amazing recap…and Ken Brand for bringing it to my attention.