Green Rating:

California homes that meet environmental standards, such as energy efficiency and proximity to public transportation, are selling at higher prices than homes that don’t, according to a new report

The study, conducted by researchers at UC Berkeley and UCLA, looked at homes that were labeled green by LEED, GreenPoint Rated and Energy Star – rating systems that give green label certifications to homes. To be certified, each rating system has a list of criteria homes must meet, including well-insulated ceilings and walls and energy-efficient lighting.

“This is the first systematic evidence of the financial value of green label homes as measured in the marketplace,” said one of the study’s researchers, Nils Kok, a visiting professor at UC Berkeley. “Green labels seem to inform and influence the opinions of consumers.”

A green label increased the selling price of a single-family home by an average of 9 percent compared with nongreen label homes. Researchers controlled the data for the age, location and size of the home so that all homes were comparable. They studied data from all of the 1.6 million green label homes sold in the state in the past five years.

Starting 2013 green code called CALGreen is applicable to residential projects. The purpose of CALGreen is to improve public health, safety and general welfare by enhancing the design and construction of buildings through the use of building concepts having a reduced negative impact or positive environmental impact and encouraging sustainable construction practices in the following categories:

  1. Planning and design
  2. energy efficiency
  3. Water efficiency and conservation
  4. Material conservation and resource efficiency
  5. Environmental quality

To achieve CALGreen Tier 1, buildings must comply with the latest edition of standard modeling. To achieve CALGreen Tier 2, buildings must exceed the latest edition of standard modeling by a minimum of 15%.