Working with the Vermont Green Home Alliance the Northern New England Real Estate Network (NNEREN) has included HERS® Index Scores of homes in their Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as part of their effort of “greening” the MLS. NNEREN covers the states of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and an area in northern Massachusetts. The following features are now included in the NNEREN MLS: Home Energy Rating Index Scores NNEREN now has a data field for recording Home Energy Rating Index Scores. NNEREN has pledged to improve the display of the Index score by showing it as a graphic to provide context Third-party Verified Building Certifications NNEREN now has third-party verified Building Certifications in its Coded Features section including the following: Energy Star Certified Home HERS® Rated LEED for Homes-Platinum LEED for Homes-Gold LEED for Homes-Silver LEED for Homes-Certified National Green Building Standard-Emerald National Green Building Standard-Gold National Green Building Standard-Silver National Green Building Standard-Bronze Passive House Vermont Builds Greener Certified In addition to the listings on the MLS, o n the NNEREN website a VGHA provided PowerPoint called Greening Our MLS – Using Home Energy Ratings & Building Certifications to Document & Market Energy-Efficient & Green Certified Homes at NNEREN.COM, is available (to subscribers) explaining the national Home Energy Rating System (HERS) in detail and providing guidance and support (a conversion table) for dealing with homes with Home Energy Ratings under the pre-2006 “Classic” Home Energy Rating Score. Jeffrey Gephart of Efficiency Vermont reports that there has also been a • HERS® Database for Appraisers developed. Many of the most energy-efficient and green certified homes being built in Vermont are custom homes that are never listed on the MLS. As a result, it will take some time before there are lots of Rated homes in the MLS that can be used by appraisers for a sales comparison. To address that situation Efficiency Vermont, at the request of the VGHA and support of NNEREN, has created a database that includes all homes that participate in Efficiency Vermont’s Residential New Construction (and full gut-rehab) Services. The HERS® Appraiser Database includes: Address City/Town Postal Code County State Home Energy Rating Index Score any & all third-party verified building certifications earned, and the date of completion in Efficiency Vermont’s service Data is uploaded to this searchable database (a simple Excel file), on a quarterly basis starting back in 10/17/11, and continuing through to the present. As of the end of the 1st quarter in 2013, over 400 homes (single and multifamily) have been added to the HERS® Appraiser Database. As Efficiency Vermont has rated and certified between 25% to 43% of all Vermont residential new construction annually, the data in this database covers a significant number of new homes. Steve Baden, RESNET’s Executive Director commented that, “Including the HERS® Index Score in the MLS is a significant push to the mainstreaming of the HERS® Index Score in the housing market in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. REALTORS® rely on the MLS to guide potential homebuyers and appraisers use the service to locate comparable properties. Having this information will make it easier for builders to market their HERS® Index Scores and appraisers to calculate the market value of rated homes.” The Vermont Green Home Alliance is comprised of the following housing industry and energy efficiency organizations: Vermont Association of REALTORS® Appraisal Institute – Vermont Chapter Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Northern Vermont Vermont Mortgage Bankers Association Vermont Housing Finance Agency Efficiency Vermont Vermont Energy Investment Corporation Vermont Green Building Network Passive House Alliance – Vermont Chapter Building for Social Responsibility
