Liveability the new way for real estate agents to assess and value sustainable houses

LJ Hooker has made a change that will revolutionise the way real estate is bought and sold in Australia. Finally, there is a mechanism for agents to recognise, understand, and value a home’s sustainability features and qualities. It is marketed as Liveability – live the life you want, sustainably.

Announced at the Building Designers Australia National Conference last week, friend and colleague of Envirotecture, Dr Chris Reardon* has been working with Hookers Sustainability Manager Ms Cecille Weldon, and the CSIRO, to create program and checklist that agents and valuers can use to recognise a whole range of sustainability features. They are trained by Chris and Cecille, and accredited by the Liveability administrator.

The Liveability website says
“Each of our lives are characterised by different habits, jobs and lifestyles as well as environments in which we live, work and play.. so why shouldn’t living sustainably be approached in the same way?”

There is a checklist, called “the 17 things” that agents use to list the sustainability features of each property. These cover most items you would like to see, but are not ratings. As Cecille puts it: “Either the home has the feature, or it doesn’t – we are not setting out at this point to quantify the sustainability, because how people live in the house affects its impact much more.”

The website also has guides to energy rating, apps for checking solar access to windows when inspecting houses for sale, and much more.

Agents are also required to run their businesses with a focus on “the three Ps – paper, petrol and power” – so that they are walking the talk. Maybe we can expect to fewer big black Audis and more Priuses at open houses?

Amazingly, the program is open to any agent from any franchise – LJ Hooker are not hanging onto it for themselves. This is a huge thing!

We welcome this initiative with open arms – it may be long overdue, but it’s here now, and it’s one less argument against investing is sustainable design.

Check it out here – and when selling or buying, seek out an accredited Liveability agent!

*Chris Reardon is the principle author of the acclaimed Your Home Technical Manual, to which Envirotecture director Dick Clarke is also a contributing author.