A new resource called the Green Multiple Listing Service Tool Kit will help real estate appraisers provide more reliable valuations of homes with energy-efficient features. 

The result of a collaborative effort coordinated by the National Association of Realtors and involving NAHB, the Appraisal Institute and the U.S. Green Building Council, the tool kit is aimed at helping add green features to searchable fields in a local Multiple Listing Service. It provides a snapshot of the green home industry, outlines why adopting a green initiative for the MLS is important, and offers step-by-step strategies for implementing this change. The kit also includes links to case studies of MLS systems that have successfully implemented a green initiative, sample data entry forms containing searchable green features, a glossary of green terms, and more.

NAHB believes this tool kit takes the next important step of translating green construction into demonstrable value for brokers and their customers all over the country. Appraisal Institute member Don Briggs helped explain the practical applications of the new tool kit this way:  "An MLS that gathers information with more accuracy becomes more valuable to appraisers. As the green home comparable data improves, the appraiser can begin to support the value placed on other green home features such as water efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. As a result, they will be able to more accurately assess and place proper value on green homes." 

For more information, please visit this Web page. Contact: MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.org.