There is a change that has started to take place that has many people thinking and acting differently in relation to the environment. It is all over the press; everywhere you go you see something GREEN. It is what everyone is talking about. And talk becomes action. People are making changes, some slowly, some quickly and as our clients learn more and become more active, it changes the way they make decisions. This is not a trend, this is a change that is effecting how people live, how companies operate, how builders build, how homebuyers search for homes. As REALTORS®, we want to be on track with these changes and help our clients as best we can. The MLS is our tool and lucky for us, in the South Central WI MLS area, we have been given a tool that will help us be at the forefront of the green movement. We are one of the first in the nation that has adopted the checkbox feature into the MLS that will help us track green built homes, energy efficient homes and create a way to search for properties with these features.

Environmentally conscious clients want to be closer to where they work, go to school, and shop. They want to cut down on how much they drive and they want to take advantage of public transportation. That means that we are not just talking about new construction, we are talking about taking older homes and recycling them, making changes to create a more efficient home.

This important first step with our new Environmentally Friendly Features section on the MLS will help drive real estate, financial, appraisal and inspection professionals towards measuring and valuing energy efficiency and green features in a standardized way. For more information about the Green Built Home program, check out: www.greenbuilthome.org and for information about Wisconsin Energy Star and the Home Energy Rating System (HERS), you can visit: www.focusonenergy.com.

With this new change on the MLS comes a new committee through the REALTORS® Association of South Central Wisconsin called the Green Committee. This group was created back in the spring of 2007 and has grown to a membership of more than 50 local Realtors® who are motivated and determined to stay on the cutting edge of the green movement. If you have any interest in learning more about green homes, local resources available and how to keep our business practice environmentally responsible, please come to a monthly meeting. We meet the second Thursday of each month at different locations to hear speakers and tour green buildings, businesses, homes, projects, and places of interest in the community. The more knowledge we have, the better equipped we are to give our clients a high level of service. Check us out at: www.MadisonsGreenAgents.com.