Green Real Estate Investing Indicates a Continuing Focus on Energy Efficiency

A little more than a third of all real estate investment trusts (REITs) are focusing their investments in green buildings, reports the Wall Street Journal[1]. While currently no REITs have an official stance on green building and green real estate, based on current trends it appears that real estate investors would prefer energy efficient buildings when possible, possibly because green building is a fairly new phenomenon and even though the real estate market is “fairly frozen,” as the Director of the Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard described it, it is possible to benchmark this type of properties performance.

In some cases REITs are constructing new buildings entirely in accord with new green regulations as determined by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDS) rating system, and even more are looking to renovate existing properties that they own to make them greener than they are presently. This is viewed as a good use of investment money because greener buildings indicate greater sustainability of investment.

Are you focusing on green buildings in your portfolio? If so, is it out of personal preference or investment strategy?

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[1] http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100817-710016.html