Appraise This: How Much For A Hobbit House?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 07. 1.08
How would real estate appraisers tackle this one? They're going to need to learn. It's already starting on the commercial side. For example, the Appraisal Institute just offered a seminar for appraisers titled An Introduction to Valuing Green Buildings. Attendees learned "how buildings held for investment relate to the larger green building universe. The analysis and valuation of green building for investment purposes are also examined."
In a collapsing housing market, are green-smart appraisers going to help buoy the values of well designed properties? With energy prices going way up, you bet they are.
Caveat: if the definition of "green" is heavily weighted toward energy efficiency.
The Austin Business Journal covered the seminar:
The seminar from the Chicago-based Appraisal Institute looked at issues such as the most cost-efficient sustainable building elements and how appraisers can establish a benchmark for green building valuation with so few comparisons available.A paradoxical sounding promo line from the seminar, as reported by the Austin Business Journal:This week's seminar focused on green commercial properties, but the institute also plans to create another seminar focused on the residential appraisals.
What sustainable elements provide the "most bang for the buck?"If that is a serious question, clearly the industry has more to learn about what sustainability infers.
See also: Groovy Green Picks Five Crazy Cool Eco Spaces
Image credit::ScribeMedia.org, Hobbit House How-to
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- 15 Years, 15 Stories: Seeds of a Green Revolution
- Tom Friedman Can't Make Up His Mind
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- The Living Walls of San Francisco's Embarcadero
I love the house on the picture. Can you provide a link to information about this house? Thanks1
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See image credit at end of post.
The web site for this house is at:
http://www.simondale.net/house/
As a commercial real estate appraiser, I'd love to corner the market on this kind of work. The CCAI is also a great place to take a class. I'll have to look into heading to Chicago for a class!
I'm afraid this is the sort of thing that would send my local building inspector screaming into the night, only to return with stop orders.
I took a look at their web site, and they did a great job with some very basic materials. Thier whole idea is to do this with mostly local materials, and do it cheap (60 pounds per square meter, or about 13 dollars a square foot.)
Sadly if this takes place here in the US, they will be the new McMansions, gigantic half underground houses build on split up former farm land, sucking up as much energy as Al Gores house.
See also our post of several years ago: Living Like a Hobbit. Small House, Travel & Adventures.
Hard to beat the insulation of 12+ inches of solid dirt.
One contender is air-formed concrete structures. Big in the 70's, the technology then was inferior and had issues. Most of those issues are worked out, and new designs and a redefinition of aesthetics are setting the stage for a huge comeback.
The ideal is a mix of these two technologies.
As for the caveat, if you want green, CO2 is the thing that takes the most infrastructure change to fix. Almost every other environmental concern is easily shown to have enough direct negative aspects on human health and well being that they speak for themselves.
I'm pleased to see that John pointed out the serious shortfall here. When focusing on only energy consumption and "bang for buck" (which is what the majority of the current green trend does) we miss out on a lot of other sustainable ideas.
Composting toilets, low flow shower heads, and sustainable materials should contribute to a home's value not just to the previous owners' conscience.
I'm finding it a challenge finding ANY appraiser who will give a value to green aspects of a home. The issues at play, in my case, are:
1) passive environmental design resulting in substantially lower energy bills compared to the typical American home (50% less according to DOE's Building America rating team);
2) solar electrical systems;
3) solar hot water systems;
4) conservation areas / neighborhood common space;
5) sidewalks and bike trails.
No appraiser I've approached will give a value - any value at all - for these items without a comp in the area.
Is it just the part of the country I'm working in, or is this typical across the US?
Does anyone know of available "standards" that can be passed on to appraisers as a basis for accessing additional value to a home for energy-saving and green elements?
James Polk, Architect
jamespolk22@gmail.com
Visit the New American Village blog:
http://newamericanvillage.blogspot.com/
I'm finding it a challenge finding ANY appraiser who will give a value to green aspects of a home. The issues at play, in my case, are:
1) passive environmental design resulting in substantially lower energy bills compared to the typical American home (50% less according to DOE's Building America rating team);
2) solar electrical systems;
3) solar hot water systems;
4) conservation areas / neighborhood common space;
5) sidewalks and bike trails.
No appraiser I've approached will give a value - any value at all - for these items without a comp in the area.
Is it just the part of the country I'm working in, or is this typical across the US?
Does anyone know of available "standards" that can be passed on to appraisers as a basis for accessing additional value to a home for energy-saving and green elements?
James Polk, Architect
jamespolk22@gmail.com
Visit the New American Village blog:
http://newamericanvillage.blogspot.com/