This is the 3rd installment of a series we are doing on what Gen Y wants in a new apartment. I am using information gathered at a conference I recently attended in Colorado.
The five panelist were asked the following question: How important is being Green or LEED certified to you and how much extra would you pay to live in a community that meet the criteria for such?
I was blown away by the answers and I would challenge the authenticity of it:
4 out of 5 of the panelist said $100 to $150 extra!!! WOW!
The fourth panelist gave the answer I would agree with most. $0. Her logic, everyone should be doing their part to "save the planet," she went on to imply that those who would profit from it are being intellectually dishonest.
I agree with her on the premise that everyone should be doing their part. I do understand that it cost money to be green/LEED certified. I do also agree that people want to get in on the gold rush. Just last night I was sent a story from California where a management company had just received an award for being Green. In the story the owner admits outright that their major premise for doing it in the first place was for marketing reasons and the ability to make more money.
I get that and I am troubled by it at the same time. To me at some point those willing to pay $100 to $150 more are going to start asking the question what am I really getting for this $1200 to $1800 a year. Maybe they go a step further and say, hmmm, this 200 unit property is 95% occupied and if the other 189 people are paying $1200 extra a year, that is $226,800. Beyond that and furthermore if the community is putting LED lights in common areas and exercising a new recycling program aimed at reducing trash bills, where are the savings and why are they not being passed on to me? Hmmm, I am paying $1200 extra and the community is reducing its cost. Brilliant!!! That really doesn’t line up with my values, I think its time to move. And by the way I have a blog that yields 500 to 1000 unique visitors a day and I think I will lecture my fellow generation on the marketing tactics of our boomer owners.
My real point is this, be careful on how profitable you choose to be by exploiting the powerful pull of being Green/LEED certified.
Technorati Tags: LEED certified, green apartments, apartment marketing, property management, mike brewer
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0 Responses
Hi M,
It’s J. We did that at my old property then gave away the icescrapers with the property’s logo on them. They were very nice and I still have mine – 11 years later!
What you get for your extra $100 is reduced utility bills, possibly equal to or greater than the rent premium. A true LEED or otherwise green building will have energy and water efficient devices and fixtures, as well as the high-end low-energy lighting packages you mentioned in the common areas. You are also getting a cleaner, healthier living environment. These perks are not free, and will pay for themselves over time.
I’d been trying to get recycling at my property and hoped to get it at all Equity properties since I started with the company in 2002. Just now at the start of this year, we’ve put recycling at all the properties. Prior to that, I started a “recycling garage” where residents could bring their recyclables down, and I took them to the recycling center myself twice a week. WOW… Little did I know the outrageous response we’d have to the program, and I couldn’t keep up with the flow.
I don’t know that this really has much to do with increasing rents or saving money, but I just know I’m really happy we have it, and we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from people who want to recycle.
I think Colorado should require it State wide. It’s that way in Wisconsin and several other states. Why don’t we all do it just because it’s the right thing to do? Well… we can never count on that, so we should require it of those who are too lazy or indifferent to do it on their own. 🙂
J
B, I see your point with the reduced utility bills and the healthy environment. However, net net, I have no real savings. I pay more in rent but less in utilities. And, I deserve a better quality of life, I should not have to pay extra for it. That should be a function of life and a responsibility of all. Not a profit center.
The owner makes a one time capital investment in fixtures and most likely on a 3 to 5 year ROI schedule and once the payback is achieved a good percentage of the rest is money in the bank.
Is that fair to say?
I really think, at the end of the day, owners can and will exploit this trend.
Thank you for the feedback as it really does expose some very good points.