"We sometimes emphasize the danger in a crisis without focusing on the opportunities that are there."
Al Gore
Welcome to our statistic archives. Here you will find a look at some of the industry statistics we have presented in our monthly newsletter, The REsource.
2013 Archive
2012 Archive
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2011 Archive
March 2013
The Landscape of Social Media Users
Especially
if you're targeting young buyers, take a close look at a late 2012
survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life
Project.
It offers a read on who's using social media.
February 2013
Eyes on Your Videos
If using videos to
market your business and properties ranks high on your 2013 to-do list,
be sure you know where your videos will get the most eyes.
If you need tips on creating high-quality videos, see the September 2011 story, "10 Ways to Rev Up Your Marketing with Video."
Source: Realtor.org
Top 2012 LEED Cities
Who doesn't love a top 10 list?
Here's one. The USGBC released its top 10 cities for 2012 LEED projects.
Within the top 10 states for LEED in 2012, 235.5 million square feet were certified in 1,908 total projects.
Here are the top five rankings. See the complete list here.
January 2013
Eyeing Sustainability Gaps
For Tork USA's
December 2012 study, "The Sustainability Gap," Harris Interactive
talked with both consumers and U.S. and Canadian companies and found
discrepancies in how people view sustainability and gaps in what
businesses are doing and what consumers may want.
That said, the report found that there's a steady march forward among consumers and companies with sustainability initiatives.
And though Tork isn't involved with housing, its study does offer insight into consumers' green perceptions and motivations.
Consumers
shared their thoughts concerning the value of a universal
sustainability index and the influences that third-party endorsements
had on their buying decisions.
The study found that companies
are starting to question whether consumers are giving them proper credit
for green initiatives. It addressed why there are sustainability gaps
in purchasing decisions, particularly a waning interest in buying green
or sustainable products.
One possible answer: Consumers have
adopted a new set of values in how or why they purchase and no longer
classify these decisions as green, but as the new normal. See the
complete report here.
December 2012
Don't Ditch Postcards Just Yet
Here's something surprising. People still want to get stuff in the mail, meaning snail mail.
So says an Epsilon survey.
Take a look at why.
Another recent survey, conducted by Research
Now, with WebStar Research, on behalf of ChoozOn Corporation, shows just
how many of those e-mail marketing messages are actually read by the
target audience.
So if snail mail figures in your future,
see www.greenresourcecouncil.org/postcards.cfm for ways to tap GRC deals
on personalized postcards and brochures.
Source: BlueKangaroo.com
November 2012
Un-chewed Food Yields Chewed Up Resources
Getting food to the table uses half the land in the U.S. and requires 80 percent of the fresh water consumed in the country. Yet, 40 percent of food goes uneaten.
That's according to "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill," a report produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council. For more on food waste, see this month's "Back to Basics: Waste to Taste."
Food is lost across the process, from postharvest handling to distribution and retail losses.
Here are figures associated with consumers waste.
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council
Wasted Food Second Biggest Landfill Occupant
The Environmental Protection Agency calls the amount of food wasted in the United States staggering.
The agency says that in 2010, more than 34 million tons of food waste was generated, more than any other material category but paper. Food waste accounted for almost 14 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream.
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
October 2012
Red States, Green Jobs
During this
political season, you've probably grown weary of the constant chatter
about red versus blue states and job creation.
How about some chatter about where green jobs are growing?
A study, "RED, WHITE & GREEN: The True Colors of America’s Clean Tech Jobs" by DBL Investors, San Francisco, offers a bit of a surprise about the states with the biggest share of green job growth.
They aren't the usual suspects.
Here
are the states where green jobs are growing fastest (the % represents
the percentage growth of green jobs between 2003 and 2010), along with
each state's political leanings.
Think $: Another Reason to Attend REALTORS® Conference & Expo
Can't
decide whether to attend the 2012 REALTORS® Conference & Expo (for
more about the green events at this year's Orlando conference, see
"Bright Green Convention Lineup") in November?
Consider this.
According
to 2012 NAR Member Profile and 2011 REALTORS® Conference & Expo
Attendee Demographic Profile, members who attend the event make at least
$40,000 more, on average, per year than those who don’t attend.
September 2012
Support Your Green Claims With Data
During
this month's Webinar, Ben Kaufman of GreenWorks Realty in Seattle
addressed the importance of collecting green home statistics.
The
data, local to your market, can offer a tremendous marketing and
educational boost and help you to support your assertions about the
value of green property.
Here's some data from Kaufman's King County, Washington market that he shares with his prospects.
August 2012
Green L.A. Homes Sell for Premium
You ask for it. We deliver. We know that you're always looking for hard numbers that illustrate the value of green.
Just in case you missed this meaty headline, here it is: "Green Upgrades Increase Value of Los Angeles Homes by 5.5 to 9 Percent"
See the full story here.
Corporate Responsibility Expands
U.S.
businesses view energy management as essential to their financial
competitiveness. They're also more concerned about the image they're
conveying to customers.
Those are some findings from the 2012
reSources Study that was conducted by Deloitte, along Harrison Group, a
strategy and market research firm.
The study assesses actions businesses are taking to manage energy usage and what their motivation is for doing so.
To see the full report, click here.
July 2012
Greenest Mayors
Everyone knows that a mayor's commitment to green has a tremendous impact on speeding along green adoption in a city.
And virtually everyone loves the quick list to see where a pet project, cause or celebrity ranks.
So here's one list that ranks big-city mayors on the green strides they're making.
It was compiled by Corporate Knights Magazine, in conjunction with Tufts University Political Science professor Kent E. Portney.
Read about all 10 mayors here.
Here are five top mayors, along with snippets about their green accomplishments:
Urban Green
The Carbon Disclosure Project took a look at 73 cities across the world to assess what they're doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.
Take a look at the complete report for some data, stories, and analysis on how cities are tackling climate change.
If you're working with your local government on choosing projects to do, this list of strategies that cities are employing could provide some ideas.
June 2012
Skeptical Consumers
Cone Communications' "2012 Cone Green Gap Trend Tracker" is one such study. It finds a skeptical consumer who wants companies to do a better job helping them understand the environmental terms they use to talk about their products and services.
It found that the messages consumers want most are those that are precise. When they buy environmentally-beneficial products, 81 percent of consumers said that a symbol or certification and a message with specific data or outcomes influence their buying decisions.
Also, nine out of 10 consumers say they're motivated to buy an environmental product because it'll save them time or money in the long run. Here are two snapshots from the study. See the complete results online.
May 2012
Consumers Willing to Swap Green for Green
The 2012 "New and Remodeled Green Homes SmartMarket Report" by McGraw-Hill Construction looked at customers' willingness to open their wallets and pay more for green.
That 61% of builders and 66% of remodelers report that customers will pay more for a green home or remodeling is significant says the McGraw Hill report.
After all, housing prices are down, unemployment is high, and the cost of living has risen. Yet, concludes the report, "Despite strong economic pressure, green has increased in value to consumers."
Source: 2012 "New and Remodeled Green Homes SmartMarket Report" by McGraw-Hill Construction
Source: 2012 "New and Remodeled Green Homes SmartMarket Report" by McGraw-Hill Construction
April 2012
Skeptical Consumers
Cone Communications' "2012 Cone Green Gap Trend Tracker" is one such study. It finds a skeptical consumer who wants companies to do a better job helping them understand the environmental terms they use to talk about their products and services.
It found that the messages consumers want most are those that are precise. When they buy environmentally-beneficial products, 81 percent of consumers said that a symbol or certification and a message with specific data or outcomes influence their buying decisions.
Also, nine out of 10 consumers say they're motivated to buy an environmental product because it'll save them time or money in the long run. Here are two snapshots from the study. See the complete results online.
March 2012
Top Spots for Transit Savings
Wondering how much you could save by taking public transportation instead of driving? Here are February 2012 findings from the American Public Transportation Association. The group factors in local gas prices, monthly unreserved parking rates and the cost of a monthly transit pass into calculations to rank savings by city.
Where can you save the most by ditching the car? Here are its top ten cities. See all 20 cities that it ranked by viewing the report.
Belief in Global Climate Change Rebounds
February 2012
Bulb Cheat Sheet
EcoHatchery's Adam Borut created this quick way to compare light bulb choices and their lifetime costs. 
Remodelers' Most-used Items
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) surveyed remodelers to find out the energy saving items they installed most often in projects during the fourth quarter of 2011. Remodelers checked all items on the list that applied to their projects.
January 2012
Energy Star® Homes Have Market Leg-up
A 2011 study by the North Carolina Energy Efficiency Alliance indicates that ENERGY STAR® homes have a leg-up in the market. The group looked at data in a five-county region around the North Carolina's greater Raleigh-Durham area. It compared a random sample of Energy Star Homes with home with no green certifications.
One key finding of the study: Energy Star Homes sold faster and for more money than those other properties.
Read about how the study was conducted and the group's other findings here.
December 2011
Scoring Companies' Greenness
Are you looking to give your dollars to companies that have strong green policies?
Check out the "5th Annual Company Scorecard Report" by Climate Counts to find how well major companies are doing on combating climate change.
For
the last five years, Climate Count has been rating companies, and it
relies on a 100-point scale to measure companies on 22 different
criteria. They include companies' stance and policy on climate change
and efforts they've taken to reduce their footprint.
Tomorrow's Dream Home: Small, Environmentally Friendly
Three
key findings from the Yahoo Home Horizons 2012 study illustrate that
consumers are getting savvier about green home choices. They're
interested in lowering their carbon footprint and making more energy
efficient choices.
The three indicators are:
1. 50% of people consider green/energy efficient appliances/materials are a requirement of their dream home.
2. 60% of those in the market say that green/energy-efficient appliances are amenities they’d like to have in their next home.
3.
27% of those in the market say that looking for a greener, more
energy-efficient home is a significant reason they want a new home.
The study also illustrates how consumers' concept of the dream home is shifting.
