Chicago Real Estate Experts Green Dream Group Announce New Video Explaining Why There's Never Been a Better Time to Buy or Sell a House

CHICAGO, Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- High Performance Homes now sell at a 9% premium as recently reported by the Washington Post, USA Today, and the LA Times. The noted study documented 1.6 Million homes in California over the last five years, and found that homes with a third party green certification command a 9% higher price, on average. This larger sampling validates a 2009 Seattle study showing a 9.6% premium, and a North Carolina study showing new certified homes sold for over 10% more per square foot and in nearly 1/3 less time than new construction sales of non-certified homes. 

Home value has historically been dependent on square footage, the numbers of bedrooms and baths (no matter how tiny), even countertops and fixtures, but this study is the first that considers the home as a system, and exactly how much homebuyers are willing to pay for certified home performance in comfort, durability, air quality, and energy efficiency.

"Chicago's new Green MLS is the tool for the job of bringing back the housing market," says Corbett Lunsford of Green Dream Group. "We can now document these green certifications, and our market is flush with BPI and RESNET Certified Professionals who can complete the performance testing and provide realtors with certified results." Lunsford is the founder of Chicago Home Performance and the Building Performance Workshop, both divisions of Green Dream Group which provide homeowners and realtors with third party verification, and train construction professionals in the required performance testing standards. 

A new video from Green Dream Group explains to Realtors and Appraisers the basics of the new Green MLS  features (http://youtube.com/greendreamgroup).

This initiative was done as a collaborative effort between Green Dream Group's Corbett Lunsford, @Properties' Sarah Coulter, Pahroo Appraisal's Michael Hobbs, and MRED.

The following certifications are available nationwide, and are able to be utilized in Green real estate listing services everywhere:

• HERS Ratings
• ENERGY STAR for Homes
• LEED for Homes
• NAHB Green
• Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
• EPA Indoor airPLUS
• EPA WaterSense

Home performance is becoming a common sense practice for homeowners who are tired of paying for home improvement work that proves to be ineffective.  If you have a stomach ache, you surely visit a Doctor for a diagnosis before asking a surgeon to have your appendix removed.  The same is true with homes: if a home has comfort or energy problems, you should call an Energy Auditor to get a Home Performance Analysis before asking for bids on window replacements. The stomach ache might not be caused by the appendix, and the window replacement is likely not a real solution to increasing your home's comfort, energy efficiency and durability.

Independent scientific verification will be the helping hand for realtors to help pull the housing market out of the current economic downturn, and the increased demand for this testing and certification will fuel job growth. Visit http://www.ilenergyraters.org to find certified professionals through the Illinois Association of Energy Raters and Home Performance Professionals.

About the Home Performance Pro: Corbett Lunsford, author of Home Performance Diagnostics: the Guide to Advanced Testing (http://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/homeperformancediagnosticsbook), is the founder of Green Dream Group's Chicago Home Performance division in Chicago (http://www.greendreamgroup.com), serves as Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Energy Raters & Home Performance Professionals (http://www.ilenergyraters.org), hosts the Building Performance Podcast, and is the YouTube authority on diagnostic demo videos. In addition to performing hundreds of comprehensive home performance assessments and new ENERGY STAR Home certifications in Chicago, Corbett presents at home performance conferences across the U.S.

Intro to the Green MLS Online Video-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddnft2zx5p4

Washington Post Article-
http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/study-finds-that-energy-efficient-homes-often-command-higher-prices/2012/07/19/gJQAF4MiwW_story.html

Seattle Study-
http://www.ereleases.com/pic/2012-Seattle-Green-Real-Estate.pdf

North Carolina Study-
http://guerdat.home.mindspring.com/realtyanalyticsnc/id3.html

Contact:

Carissa Ilg, Business and Development Coordinator
773-271-5310
[email protected]

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SOURCE Green Dream Group