Each year, the Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD) presents the EverGreen Award to a real estate professional who embraces sustainable design and building practices. This year, the honor went to Joshua Dickinson, owner, president and broker at Zip Code East Bay in Kensington, California.
“The EverGreen Award is a culmination of many different initiatives, and while the award has my name on it, it’s entirely a team effort,” notes Dickinson, who explains that all of Zip Code East Bay’s agents have obtained the Green designation.
Dickinson founded Zip Code East Bay in 2012. After working in academic fundraising and environmental engineering, Dickinson pursued a career in real estate to have more autonomy, do work that aligns with his values and help improve the environment in tangible ways.
His degrees and practical experience in engineering and environmental science are part of the reason for the firm’s success. “My background gives me a unique perspective and credibility when discussing environmental issues such as climate change and the threat of wildfires with homeowners who live in the area as well as prospective buyers,” he says.
A Certified Green Business, Zip Code East Bay was the first real estate brokerage in California to be certified as a B Corp. This company meets high standards in terms of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. The brokerage aims to make every property it sells greener and to have a positive environmental impact with each transaction.
When agents prepare homes for listing, they look for ways to make them healthier for their future occupants, the environment and the community. Those overarching goals guide agents when selecting materials for repairs and renovations, cleaning, dealing with pests, improving landscaping, boosting energy efficiency and reducing water usage.
Those choices attract buyers who understand that healthy and energy-efficient properties will save them money over time. In fact, recent Zillow analysis shows that houses that have undergone environmentally friendly upgrades tend to sell faster and for higher prices than homes without similar features.
“It’s hard to pin down the payback for individual projects, but when people go all in on eco, these things are not only sustainable on a cumulative basis, but people will pay for it,” says Dickinson.
For instance, he says that after Zip Code East Bay made eco-friendly upgrades to a property, “it sold for what we thought was $35,000 to $40,000 more than it would have otherwise .”
“I think the biggest hurdle still comes down to cost, especially when fixing houses up for sale,” says Dickinson, who notes that people in his area generally recognize the value of green improvements and want to embrace sustainable practices. Still, many can’t afford to do so.
“Green switches require extra time and money. It’s a lot harder to do. It doesn’t financially check out in all cases. There is will for people to do it, but it’s still cheaper to do it the other way,” explains Dickinson. “Prices are getting better, but even in an area that’s pretty green generally, green costs more.”
Dickinson refers clients to the Bay Area Regional Energy Network’s website, https://www.bayren.org, which provides information on rebates, financing and other options to make sustainable home improvements more affordable.
“Even though financial resources are available, there’s a general lack of awareness, especially for first-time homebuyers,” says Dickinson. “A lot of money is being left on the table by the community at large because they don’t know what’s available.”
Dickinson believes real estate agents can and should do more to promote sustainability. “We need to be industry leaders on this,” he concludes.
For more information, please visit https://green.realtor/evergreen_awards.
