The parade commenced. The cry went out. It was heard in the neighborhood, It was heard on downtown streets. You could even see it plastered on local bulletin boards.
I am a REALTOR®. Housing as an investment is part of the decision-making process for my clients. But something new and colorful was on the horizon. . "Green homes and land for sale, GREEN HOMES and LAND For Sale!"
I should have been the first person to notice. After all, I am aware that families want to know that the money they invest, possibly the most significant investment of a lifetime, is going to have a solid ROI. Possibly even more than that they want to know that they will have a healthy living environment . And investors in real property ? They want to know that the risks they take are likely to pay off!
With the demand for sustainable development and building soaring, I should have known to advise them of the trend.
And I did.
I'm not saying I have a close relationship with the green homes crystal ball, or anything.
I just had some expert prodding...Insights that came right from my community here in Asheville, North Carolina. And from across the Great U.S.A. trends in Sustainable /Green building offer Insights.
PRODDING & INSIGHTS
There's a shift in the housing market. Even the Weather Channelis reporting on building GREEN . The Asheville area might well be THE hottest market for this focus in the USA. The word is out that Ashevilleis on the "greenfront" looking forward, in happy anticipation, to positive futures for all of us. So what does this have to do with housing as an investment? It's a clue. Look at it as some timely prodding from smart markets.
Prodding. Outside the Investment Housing Market, here in Western North Carolina, the N.C. Solar Center, a State-sponsored agency, is making grants to alt-fuel producers and fleets. Warren Wilson College is using the new fuels. UNCA is helping Blue Ridge Biofuels obtain national transportation-fuel certification and training so the school can use a 20-percent (and, eventually, 50-percent) blend of the cooperative's biodiesel in its campus shuttles. Buncombe County Solid Waste, whose fleet now runs on biodiesel, announced that the county also intends to convert 15 ambulances to the fuel and hopes eventually to use methane gas produced by decomposing vegetable matter at the county landfill (AR's Bill Westel should be happy with this news. He's into exploring housing investment real estate adjacent to landfills, of all things. One last note, the Sheriff's Department is converting to CNG, and the Blue Ridge Parkway also is looking into biodiesel. ..,
So, signs of the times...
Prodding. ..The Housing as an Investment Market. Here are some interesting facts:
- Home owners as well as second/vacation home investors in Asheville's "Green" real estate market have advantages...such as: Improved indoor air quality and healthier environment, Lasting value, Lower Environmental Impact(good for investor, neighborhood, town, all of us) Lower utility bills for heating and cooling.. just to name a few. Sound attractive to you?
- Green technology is more in demand each year. Right here in Asheville, N.C., for example, there are 374 "Green" homes currently being built and 44 on the market. Sustainable homes reflect attention to detail which ultimately results in a top notch product in high demand by residential property clients and a top notch investment opportunity and prospects for excellent return on investment.
If you could look into the 2012 crystal ball for residential property sales, what would you predict?
Resources:
For interesting information about Healthy Built Homes including the Gold, Silver and Bronze Ratings Scale
click here.
Are you coming in to the Greater Asheville area or possibly transferred? Trends of special interest.
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