Abstract
This study investigates whether a relationship exists among sale price and green building status for multifamily properties located in Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Portland, OR; and Seattle, WA. It is hypothesized that Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification will have a positive relationship with sale price when compared to non-green multifamily properties, ceteris paribus. Data are analyzed from Chicago, New York, Portland, and Seattle, primarily because these cities contain the greatest number of green multifamily properties within the CoStar database. The sample for this project is drawn from a collection of 25 green multifamily properties and 111 non-green multifamily properties. Using multiple regression techniques to examine the sample of 136 multifamily properties, results of the study indicate that there is not a significant positive relationship between LEED certification and sale price for multifamily properties in Chicago, New York, Portland, and Seattle.
Notes
1. In order to calculate population per square mile, otherwise known as population density, land area in square meters must be divided by 2,589,988, which is the meter to mile conversion value; next, total population was divided by the calculated value. These data were provided by the US Census Bureau’s American FactFinder tool.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Colin Couch
Colin Couch is a 2012 Master’s graduate from UGA’s Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics. He joined Avison Young’s Office Properties Group as an Associate in January 2013. His expertise is creating/implementing strategic real estate solutions for his clients. Colin has assisted clients with their commercial real estate needs through his expertise in real estate financial analysis, property selection, strategic planning, market analysis, contract and lease negotiation.
Andrew T. Carswell
Dr Andrew T. Carswell has been with the University of Georgia’s Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics since 2003. He has been a frequent contributor to Housing and Society. His research has covered such housing topics as mortgage fraud, multifamily management and operations, housing counselling and residential satisfaction.
Velma Zahirovic-Herbert
Dr Velma Zahirovic-Herbert specializes in the application of consumer behavior theories to real estate. Her main area of research has been on real property (housing) valuation and the externalities in the housing market. Her research has been published in journals including Real Estate Economics, The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, The Journal of Real Estate Research, Southern Economic Journal and Urban Studies among others.