Earth Day gives real estate reason to celebrate

Going green pays when it comes to selling a house. But more importantly, real estate's future depends on more sustainable communities. Sunday, April 22 is Earth Day — a time to appreciate this beautiful planet and raise awareness about the ways we can protect and make it better it for generations to come. As it turns out, when it comes to real estate, upgrading a home to be more sustainable and earth-friendly isn’t just good for the environment, it also makes solid business sense. That’s according to a study released today by Seattle-based tech brokerage Redfin in honor of Earth Day. The research, which compared listings across the brokerage’s 80 metros with energy-efficient features versus those without, showed “green” homes sold for over $46,500 more on average in 2017 than homes without things like energy-efficient windows, appliances and solar panels. While Earth Day is just one day, April 22 each year, there are things agents can do every day to help their clients take care of the environment in their communities, such as talking to them about composting, energy efficient lighting and drought-tolerant landscaping.