As Earth Day inches closer, the Redfin Blog has compiled a list of neighborhoods that have the most number of green homes.
"Green buildings" offer sustainable and healthy operation facilities. These buildings focus on efficient energy consumption while preserving and protecting the surrounding environment.
For the list, the folks at Redfin sifted through homes listed for sale on the MLS that had green features mentioned in their description. Green features include solar panels, energy-saving appliances, environmental ratings and certification programs like "LEED" and "ENERGY STAR."
They found that Valley View neighborhood in Chicago, topped the list with about 39 percent of the homes having "green features." Mueller/RMMA in Austin, Texas and Carpenter Village in Raleigh, NC followed in at second and third position with 39 and 37 percent respectively.
They also discovered that the overall price of homes with green features was $47,600 more. Also most of the green homes were not newly constructed. They were just refurbished or renovated live-in homes.
Check out the full list below:
1. Valley View, Chicago, IL - 39%
2. Mueller/RMMA, Austin, TX - 39%
3. Carpenter Village, Raleigh, NC- 37%
4. Downtown Bellevue, Seattle, WA - 36%
5. Downtown Denver, Denver, CO - 32%
6. Downtown Woodstock, Atlanta, GA - 31%
7. Galindo, Austin, TX - 30%
8. Columbia City, Seattle, WA - 30%
9. Overlook, Portland, OR - 26%
10. Briar Chapel, Raleigh, NC - 26%
Redfin also released a list of the greenest neighborhoods within the 20 major metropolitan areas of the United States.
More recently, a report by the Prague Post revealed that an increasing number of real estate investors are looking to pour their money into green buildings.
"Green building is not peanuts for idealists. It's relevant for society. ... Green buildings make sense economically," Jürg Zwahlen, senior director at the Czech Republic branch of CBRE said at a conference.
Last year, the National Association of Home Builders found that the Gen-Y of America would prefer a green home any day over a non-green home.
