New property website launched to spotlight environmentally-designed homes

The move by Kiwis toward more environmentally-conscious lifestyles has hit the real estate sector – with New Zealand’s first ‘green’ property marketing website going live.

Homes selected for the website www.bayleysgreenhomes.co.nz must meet certain that establishes them as going above and beyond minimum building standards - taking into account design, energy use, water, siting, landscaping, construction, as well as durability.

The site has been established by Bayleys Green Homes Marketing Specialist Lynn Lacy-Hauck who became New Zealand’s first certified EcoBroker® – a real estate agent who assists buyers and sellers in the identifying and promoting homes based on their environmental impact and eco-efficiencies.

Studying for the internationally-recognised EcoBroker® certification involved understanding the costs and savings associated with such issues as home insulation, various types of windows and ventilation systems, design features, and heating/cooling systems.

“Overseas data from Australia, the United States and Europe has shown that homes with better energy performance for example, have a distinct market advantage over ordinary homes - achieving higher sale prices than conventional homes,” said Ms Lacy-Hauck.

“An energy-efficient home can be significantly less expensive to operate month-by-month. This is becoming quite important to home buyers as the cost of energy rises.” www.bayleysgreenhomes.co.nz was launched to meet the needs of a niche, but growing, market of home buyers demanding more efficient, healthier and better quality homes.”

“It’s also about health. Many of these homes include materials that are much healthier to live around than convention ones. Using low VOC paints, non-chemically infused materials with good natural ventilation all make a difference to human health, and don’t pollute the environment.”

Ms Lacy-Hauck anticipated that www.bayleysgreenhomes.co.nz would build a critical mass of property listings going forward, as promotion of the site grew among buyers and New Zealand’s ‘green’ network.