Several agents have said that buyers are interested in green homes and are becoming aware of the importance of energy efficient appliances. But how easy is it to search for energy efficient homes in the MLS? LeapRE found that green search terms – the words LEED, Energy Star and, of course, green, for example – do come up in listing descriptions. Bamboo however, which isn’t entirely a green term (see our “When is Green Really Green?” article on page 13) brought up the second-highest number of listings: 771. LEED was included in the description of only 16 listings.

The chart shows which green terms were included in a listing being marketed as a green home and which were not. Only 2.15 percent of listings including green terms were marketed as green properties.

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