While the Federal Reserve cut the Discount Rate this week, the topic I spoke about more often was "Green Real Estate".

"Green Agent"? Sounds like a funny term. After all, agents drive around in their own cars, usually alone. Rarely do they carpool and we typically drive large (SUV-type) cars. But something's afoot: How about "Green Homes"? In the last few weeks I have been asked about "green buildings" more than any time before. I've been trying to identify what the trigger was; so far without insight. To me it's refreshing (a) because I don't have to talk about the "buyers' market" and (b) because people are now focusing on a new building style that makes sense on many levels.

I have a link on our web page (http://www.mindyshea.com/) that connects to an article that ran in Chicago Agent last month, a local real estate industry magazine. I was interviewed by the author, which gave me the chance to talk about some of the new technologies we're starting to see in new homes (and a few retro-fit older ones.)

The reality is buyers aren't out seeking "Green" houses specifically. A smart agent (listing or selling) can help these buyers by highlighting and explaining why these technologies are important. My personal opinion is that the true benefit of "Green", more often than not, is that these technologies help save the homeowner money in their utility bills.

I also represent the builder of 611 Green Bay Road, http://www.611gbr.com/, a new 5 story mixed use building going up oin Wilmette. The exciting aspect of this building is that it will be the first, Mixed Use building in Illinois, it will be LEED certified and it will have MANY features that few buildings on the North Shore can offer including recharging hook-ups in every parking space for electric cars! There's obvioulsy a lot more but that one tends to make people listen.

The bottomline is Green Building has a long way to go before it's mainstream in Illinois. Why?

• The Chicago region is dominated by an older housing stock. When these houses were built, the builder took advantage of the "latest" technology available. But none of those techniques or materials can compare to what we now know and use.
• Homeowners don't know that there are ways to Go Green. For example, older homes can still add improvements such as tempering tanks, energy efficient windows, better insulation in roofs, energy efficient appliances, etc. to make this leap. All are easily adapted to older homes.
• Converting a house from old technology to new can be expensive and new construction that uses Green technologies tends to be more expensive than comparable homes using traditional details.

Buyers are not yet focusing on the benefits of Green homes. We're at the beginning of this learning curve. But we are definitely on this track. Check out the article on our website.

DS