I was recently introduced to an article in the St. Petersburg Times that deals with the now-popular term “greenwashing”. It was called “‘Green’ Houses in Name Only?” by Chuin-Wei Yap. I thought the author did a good job of framing the problem that is starting to crop up everywhere in real estate – sellers inappropriately identifying their homes as “green” or “energy efficient”. I loved this quote:
“As home building slumps and environmentalism becomes a business advantage, a fast-growing market for green homes is becoming synonymous with “buyer beware”
The article addressed the lack of proper oversight in “green” claims and the frustrations certifying organizations face when they see claims being made. Since most of the oversight still is voluntary, there’s nothing to stop a builder (or realtor) from making a claim that the home is energy efficient or even green-built. In fact, we have at least one builder I know of who’s labeling their homes as energy efficient (they’re nothing special, and are not certified as Energy Star or better to my knowledge). When I questioned the claim to the listing agent (in a friendly way) I got silence in reply.
“Greenwashing” is the general term for mis-representation or over-representation of a product’s environmentally-friendly attributes. Keep a sharp eye out for this trend in real estate and “buyer beware”.