Eco-Friendly Real Estate on the Rise

Eco-Friendly Real Estate on the Rise

ecobuildingsThere’s a lot of talk these days about sustainable and “green” living, and new construction is no exception to this new way of life. Heavy hitters such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and IBM Corporation have recently started making their mark in the eco-friendly building space.

Accordingly to MSN Money, sustainable building is currently one of the fastest growing areas of the commercial building industry, as evidenced by Bank of America, who recently made plans to build a 52-story “green” skyscraper in Times Square in New York City. In addition, Accenture has arranged the leasing of dozens of eco-friendly office spaces throughout the United States.

Currently, approximately 10% of all new commercial construction in the country received the LEED certification – Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In addition to new construction, existing buildings aren’t being left out.  Developers are on the hunt for partially unoccupied office buildings, with plans to renovate them to be in line with green standards.

Of course there are benefits to the environment through these practices, but more importantly to builders, there is also the potential for an increase in revenues. Transforming a traditional building into a green certified building can often produce up to a 3% increase in rents and up to a 7% increase in the building’s overall value. In addition, there are maximized savings in utility bills when building in an eco-friendly manner.

According to many environmental and real estate experts, the trend will definitely continue to gain popularity – providing consumers with greener options and builders the opportunity to increase their profitability.