All homeowners are keenly interested in what their home is worth. Periodically they ask a real estate professional to help them to know their home value as they attempt to measure their net worth. As licensed real estate professionals we have the credentials, experience and market access to provide this information and while it is usually at a dinner party or a soccer game with the question posed as a favor we normally do this for community members and friends for free. As licensed professionals we can also provide this service for a fee and do so routinely in the form of Broker Price Opinions (BPO) for banks that are in the process of turning foreclosed property over and back on to the market for repurchase.
Market access for real estate professionals comes in the form of the multiple listing service (MLS). We are also on the ground and in these properties every day. Additionally, real estate professionals in this context and those that have membership access to the MLS include the Broker, Broker Associate, Sales Associate and private Appraisers licensed in the State of Florida. The local MLS in effect "is" the local real estate market in any given community.
The next most common question is what the best upgrade is to do to a home. What is the best upgrade investment for the best return on the dollar for when the home is put on the market and sold at a later time? What are buyers looking for? What will buyers pay the most for?
The most common response traditionally has been.....kitchen and bathroom upgrades.
Contemporary consumer demand is changing however. 
Consumers are looking for GREEN/SUSTAINABLE features in a home now. The home is being thought of more as a shelter and a safe place during times of drought and prolonged periods of extreme temperatures. The indoor air quality and environment is becoming more and more of an interest as well among those growing number of people with allergies and asthmatic children. Addtionally the consuming public is looking at cost of ownership, i.e. the cost of operation along with maintenance ongoing.
The higher performance homes are also more comfortable, safer and significantly less expensive to operate.
In this scenario Energy Efficiency = Performance
Homeowners looking to upgrade their existing homes now do well to consider 1.) Energy upgrades and 2.) GREEN/SUSTAINABILITY upgrades
Technology is marching forward with the demand. The Gainesville Alachua County Association of Realtors (GACAR) upgraded the local MLS (database) in 2012 to include the latest building technology and GREEN/SUSTAINABLE features available in the marketplace today. This gives the existing homeowners the opportunity to make informed (and contemporary) decisions about upgrades to their homes and that information be captured in the MLS. Buyers searching for these contemporary features and appraisers measuring comparitive value can now find what they are looking for in the MLS.
These additions to the Gainesville Florida MLS can be seen HERE.
Among the new GREEN/SUSTAINABLE features in the MLS is the HERS Rating for a dwelling along with the year tested. 
The HERS is a certification now recognized by the Department of Energy (HERS & DOE HERE). The HERS rating is a single number that captures the overall energy performance of a home taking a wide variety of factors in to consideration, primarily air leakage from the HVAC ducts and the superstructure itself. See a complete discussion of HERS HERE. See an actual Gainesville Florida HERS certification HERE.
Aesthetics and location is important still but these other factors are being more heavily weighted now in the buyer's home search and represent a rich opportunity for the existing homeowner in terms of upgrades especially now
that the MLS will accurately reflect the investment in these newer GREEN/SUSTAINABLE features.
Kitchens and bathroom upgrades rank highly still but in different ways. High quality Energy Star certified appliances in the kitchen are a must now. Granite countertops are of less emphasis now with very aesthetically pleasing, durable and interesting materials such as Paperstone and Icestone coming in to play more and more often.
There are also LOTS of things being done with concrete these days such as these creative examples below. 
More and more people are opting for living space with no carpeting and the primary consideration with this is for health reasons. There are some very interesting things being done with GREEN/SUSTAINABLE materials throughout the home from top to bottom these days and it is not more expensive. In many instances it is less expensive and much of the time requires less upkeep and is more durable.
GREEN is now TRENDY TRENDY = MARKETABLE
Moreover performance upgrades are the new "IN-THING" that buyers are looking for.
Better Performance = More Energy Efficient
Better Performance = Better Indoor Air Quality
Better Performance = Better Overall Comfort
Better Performance = Lower Cost of Ownership
So, if the homeowner is interested in which upgrades are the better choices these days the things to consider are GREEN, SUSTAINABLE AND PERFORMANCE.
As a licensed GREEN Designated real estate professional I am involved in the community (23 yrs) and available for further consultation (and a free appraisal) at your convenience. I am also a Broker Associate level experience with the oldest continuously operating (I am pretty sure) real estate firm in the nation, Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish Realtors, having celebrated our 100th Anniversary in 2011. You can contact me through my dedicated real estate web site (link below) and you can see a sample of my past client references HERE.
Comments(0)