Fresh Pond Greenway, a 25-unit condo complex in Cambridge completed more than a year ago, includes green features.

When a developer approached Cambridge Realtor Amy Tighe to market 25 condos he was building, she immediately suggested he go green.

Tighe advised the developer to incorporate energy-efficient and sustainable features to distinguish the condos from other properties.

“I think it’s clear that there is a demand for green,” said Tighe, an agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Tighe acknowledges that buyers don’t completely understand the benefit of green homes. But when she explains that some elements can help slash home heating costs and other expenses, they’re usually all for it.

Soaring utility bills have more people thinking about homes with energy-efficient and green features. But unlike Tighe, some local real estate brokers say that hasn’t necessarily translated into a huge push or higher resale prices for eco-friendly properties.

“We’re seeing cost-conscious consumers demand high energy efficiency, but not necessarily green [housing],” said Michael Durkin, an agent in the Northborough office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Durkin is working with the developer of a 38-home Shrewsbury subdivision who is now weighing whether to use environmentally friendly and sustainable products during construc-tion. The company is also considering installing low-impact drainage systems.

Buyers of newly built homes are more likely to pay attention to whether a home has high-performance windows or climate-appropriate insulation, according to a survey of homebuy-ers. The profile of homebuyer preferences, released by the National Association of Realtors last summer, showed that 65 percent of buyers of newly built homes said that energy effi-ciency is important, compared to just 39 percent of buyers of existing homes.

In addition, older homebuyers reported a greater preference for homes with energy saving features. Sixty percent of buyers 75 years old and older said energy efficiency was very important, compared to 32 percent of buyers aged 18 to 24.

Average homeowners cannot always afford some of the green features, Durkin noted.

“A lot of people want to go green, but [they consider] at what cost,” he said.

Carolyn Chodat, owner of Classic Properties in Medway and Milford, agrees that cost is an issue for both consumers and developers.

“The building industry has gone into a bit of tailspin. If some of these features are going to prove more costly in the construction, I think they’re feeling this is not the time to put that much into building a home that would have these amenable features,” she said.
Still, Chodat said Realtors are becoming more aware of the topic.

“It’s a concept that is coming east and we’re beginning to look into it. That’s why the Greater Boston [Association of Realtors] is considering putting on a seminar about green hous-ing in the fall for our members,” she said.

In Cambridge, Tighe is already well-versed in eco-friendly design. She is one of only a few Realtors across the country who is a LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – accredited professional.

The developer of Fresh Pond Greenway ultimately took Tighe’s advice and incorporated some sustainable features, like bamboo flooring, dual-flush toilets that conserve water and mechanical ventilation in each unit. The project also received high ratings from Energy Star for its insulation – an international standard for energy efficient products.

“[People] were definitely attracted because it was green,” said Tighe.
Seventeen of the 25 condos have sold since they went on the market in early 2007, fetching between $282,500 and $584,000. While four condos were on the market for less than a month before they sold, at least eight were listed for more than six months.

One of the units sold for $280,000 in 2007 and resold for $287,000 last month. Another three condos were sold in an affordable housing lottery.

Five have not sold yet, and Tighe said the developer is renting three of them and waiting for the sluggish housing market to bounce back.
A lot of consumers don’t know what makes a house green, according to real estate professionals.

“Agents need to know what’s important about green and how to be able to talk about those features,” she said.

Rita Gallant, co-owner of Plymouth Village, said she hasn’t encountered buyers who are specifically searching for homes with sustainable features. However, Gallant said such fea-tures can boost a property’s marketability.

“I think what it does is it expands your market,” she said. “It really does bring people who care about those things.”

Gallant is building a home in Plymouth that will include including bamboo floors and two-by-six construction, which is supposed to result in savings on heating and cooling costs. She will also be marketing Lighthouse Point, an oceanfront development of 42 condos that is seeking LEED certification.

Some are convinced that as more consumers learn about the benefits of eco-friendly amenities, they will seek them out.

“There is a segment of the population and that segment will be very impressed by it. But there are still people who are unaware of it,” she said.