I have always been surprised at the lack of traction the Green movement has in my market area. You would think that with well over 300 days of sunshine a year, there would be a lot of interest in solar energy, and that in general, the market would place a high priority on eco-friendly housing. But that's not really the case. We do see occasional interest on the part of buyers, particularly those moving into the area from elsewhere, and individual home features like high-efficiency furnaces tend to be valued. But Green isn't yet much of a big deal here.
So when I was thinking about who to call for Debbie Reynolds' Singing in the Rain contest, I knew I wanted to talk to the appropriately-named Jan Green. Jan is a Realtor with RE/MAX in Scottsdale AZ. She has been in the business for 12 years, and was in finance prior to that. Jan writes about eco-friendly design and practice in her blog, a subject she is well qualified in. Jan has the NAR Green and EcoBroker designations, works as a volunteer with the US Green Building Council, and teaches Green and solar courses to agents and appraisers. And she has a wonderful website - www.gotgreen.info - that is a wealth of information for green resources in her market area. (It's also a wonderful model for agents interested in developing a Green niche in their own market.)
After spending some time comparing what was going on in our respective areas, Jan shared with me some interesting and very useful thoughts on how the Green movement emerges in markets, and how to look for and develop contacts and relationships in that industry. Eventually, Green concepts are going to become more important here, and as that happens, it will be an advantage to be informed and prepared. My discussion with Jan was very productive in getting me further down that path.
But it wasn't all serious. Jan is an engaging and fun person with a good sense of humor and we did talk about a variety of less weighty subjects, like our grandchildren and how, despite our finance and economics backgrounds, we both missed the chance to get filthy rich by making the right financial moves during the 2008 crash.
If you aren't already following Jan here on AR, you should check out her blog. There's a lot of very good information there, and a friendly Rainer willing to help.
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