Green Real Estate Investing

Even with the state of our economy, people are still concerned with the environment and willing to do what it takes to have a green home. If you own or manage commercial real estate or are looking to get into real estate investment, then you are probably becoming aware of the need for offering green real estate solutions. Yes, nowadays, more and more real estate investors are building homes with a great “green” consciousness than ever before, which has become a necessary trend. But why commercial real estate needs to go green?

At first, from the point of environmental concerns, whether you or your management company subscribe to the theory of global warming and the greenhouse effect, it is likely that your tenants, or potential tenants, or their investors will do. In the UK, all large public properties need to have a Display Energy Certificate and may also require an Energy Performance Certificate if it is newly constructed or refurbished. If a Display Energy Certificate is required then an advisory report is also required showing how savings can be made.

At the same time, with the cost of utilities and particularly electricity rising steadily any changes that can be made to improve energy efficiency will have an increasing and direct reduction on ongoing energy expenditure. Items such as passive infrared switching and heating and ventilating equipment with lower energy requirements or low water use appliances will have an ongoing financial benefit to the running cost of a building.

In addition there may be grants available towards the capital costs of changing to better performing equipment.

Of course, the decision on whether individual improvements should be made needs to take into account all of the above, however it can be seen that there is pressure from a number of directions that means more and more real estate related decisions will have to be green orientated.