“What started as a fringe movement of environmental activists and hippie entrepreneurs three decades ago is now largely mainstream for companies, investors and consumers.” So says CNBC.Realtor Magazine notes:* The market for green homes is expected to rise from $2 billion to up to $20 billion over the next five years.* Standard homes are becoming increasingly green, with home owners using green products for 40 percent of their remodeling work.* Most Americans find out about green homes through word-of-mouth, followed by television and the Internet.In the Charlottesville area, there are more “green” homes everyday, but the MLS hasn’t caught up yet. For example, to find green properties in the Central Virginia area, I have to search the remarks for the words sustainable, LEED or EarthCraft. Surely this will improve over time.
Browsing Category Green
10 ways to make your home greener
From the Washington Post.Surveys show that homeowners like the idea of using less energy and resources, but they often balk at the upfront cost, Weissgerber said. “The first thing they say in focus groups we’ve done is, ‘This is expensive.'”Not everything makes sense financially at this point to all people,” he said…. But, he said, saving energy will be on everyone’s minds as electricity and natural gas grow more expensive…. Buyers are actually budgeting now – and they’re taking utility bills into consideration when making offers.Here are the Top 10.I’m trying to find the best companies in the Charlottesville area who do the above-mentioned improvements.
Treehugger doesn’t like Charlottesville’s water conservation efforts
In fact, restrictions have been loosened a little bit.From a post yesterday noting our efforts in 2002:Promote bottled water and use paper plates. While we applaud anyone taking up the old “Act Local” mantra, we would counsel them to not forget its preceding phrase – “Think Global”. Even bottled water comes from somewhere, and the water and other resources that go into making plastic bottles and paper plates are likely to far outweigh the amount wasted from table service of tap water…. We finally have a plan for a 50-year water supply plan (that, with all the red tape, might be implemented in the next 50 years).
Green building in Charlottesville is about to (hopefully) take a major step forward
but they are certainly on the right track (in spite of the recent negative press).A few notes and thoughts on yesterday’s presentation for Realtors:- None of the floorplans (not yet online) are more than 3,000 square feet. This is a huge accomplishment for the developers – recognizing that buyers want smaller, smarter and high quality space is surprisingly innovative for such a large development.- Realtors who are representing buyers will have to be more educated on this development than they would have to be on other developments – there is just more “to it.”… They will be building 800-1200 square foot cottages in the development.While the current data don’t clearly demonstrate this trend locally:In 2004, 52% of homes sold in Charlottesville/Albemarle were less than 2000 square feet finished and in 2007, the percentage was 56%.In 2004, 27% of homes sold in Charlottesville/Albemarle were more than 2500 square feet, compared with 25% in 2007.The trend is there and will grow.Bacon’s Rebellion has a post today about Belvedere as well as a more in-depth story that points out a major hole in the development:The project will not include a grocery store…. More tomorrow.Update 18 October 2007: The presentation was the same, but the questions from the audience were new.- There is a persistent them that the development will be “family friendly.”- Concerns about the soccer facility came to light – there will be traffic to and from the fields and this likely will be a concern for some, although the benefits far outweigh the negatives.- Streets will be narrow to encourage slower traffic and more walking – “activating the street” as they say.- The buzz around this facility is unique.
Blog Action Day 2007 – My 2 cents
This post by Seth Godin helped clarify the argument for me with his “times a million” post.If we figure that the average driver in the US does 20,000 miles a year, I’m going to use about 400 gallons of gas…. A year.He’s not necessarily making an argument for change, but for considering one’s actions, and the context of one’s actions.There are many simple, little things that you can do to make an impact…. Read: how much will I save if I do this?1 – Mark your calendar for the next Green Matters workshop on 14 November where the focus will be on “explor(ing) green building materials, home furnishings, and cleaning supplies you can use to make your home and environment healthier.”2 – Read Dave’s blog3 – Move to places where you can “get to stuff” without getting into your car every single time you need to get a gallon of milk or go to soccer practice. Or, work to “get stuff” closer to where you are.4 – Put your preconceptions aside; read (for your feed reader – here’s some of the “green” blogs I read)5 – Consider your actions, think differently, do the little things like using reusable bags (they hold more groceries, stand up like paper bags and have handles!)
Friday Links – 12 October 2007
On the devaluation of traffic – There’s a fairly intense conversation today about how much traffic certain web sites generate over others…. half of all consumers trust consumer-generated media and branded web sites…. In North America 66% say they trust user generated mediaThe United States of Subprime (permanent link) – The Journal’s findings reveal that the subprime aftermath is hurting a far broader array of Americans than many realize, cutting across differences in income, race and geography. From investors hoping to strike it rich by speculating on condominiums to the working poor chasing the homeownership dream, subprime loans burrowed into the heart of the American financial system — and now are bringing deepening woe.Saying that race is the only factor in these loans is short-sighted.I tell all of my clients that the three most pressing issues in our region are infrastructure and the accompanying politics, water and affordable/workforce housing.
Why print advertising doesn’t make sense
Following up on this week’s earlier post regarding print advertising’s demise …The only print ad I have done this year was in The HooK, for their Green issue.Blogging has a better ROI.Print is useful when it transcends advertising, when it’s not advertising…. The authors write about local properties every week with unbiased, un-varnished point of view.I’ve chosen to not advertise in the local real estate publication, the Real Estate Weekly, for at least two reasons…. Second, they now print in Georgia and drive it up to Charlottesville every week – this is incongruent with my evolving green philosophies (gotta ‘walk the walk’).If only Realtors would learn to advertise their Open Houses in the Charlottesville MLS, we might not need to advertise in the Sunday Daily Progress…. The results of a poll they ran a few weeks ago led me to give them a shot – * less than $10,000 6% of all votes * $10,000 to $24,999 13% of all votes * $25,000 to $49,999 47% of all votes * $50,000 to $74,999 16% of all votes * $75,000 to $99,999 10% of all votes * more than $100,000 i.e. lucky bastard 25% of all votesBuyers and sellers are looking online.