A Conversation With ... Zach Miller

How would you characterize the real estate market right now?
We know sales are picking up a little bit, so that part’s positive. However, it’s not necessarily that everybody gets the price they want. I think a lot of home sales now are because of people going through lifestyle changes like a divorce, a death in the family, maybe they got a better job, or want to move their kids to a better school. Real estate right now is more about people who need to make a change in their lives, whereas before if was a lot of people just wanted to buy a new house. We are seeing more need-based sales.

The low interest rates right now help a lot. It helps people who are thinking of buying or selling go ahead and do it while the rates are still so low. Low rates are great for first-time homebuyers and people looking to upsize, because they can buy or upsize for about the same monthly payment they have now. Now is the time for anyone who is thinking of buying in the next five years. I think people are looking more long term at homebuying.

According to the Missouri Association of Realtors, home sales are up 9.4 percent in October compared to the same month of 2011. To what would you attribute this upward trend?
Everybody knows 2007 was pretty much the high point, and the market has been coming down for the last several years. But now, it’s been so long, some people are ready to make a decision instead of waiting. They’re thinking, “Lets go ahead and buy a house or sell a home and make a change.” Sometimes that number is a positive thing and sometimes there are people who are struggling with their home. Home sales are up because more people are buying, but also because many people are selling their home and opting to rent to save a few hundred dollars a month. The low interest rate is probably the No. 1 thing driving home sales right now.

What is the function of the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors Green Committee?
When a homeowner sells a home, they use a multilist to check off all the features a home has such as a basement, fenced-in backyard and so on. We found a lot of people wanted to include more green features on the multilist. We started the Green Committee in 2008, looked at what other areas were doing and found out there were a couple other cities in the county that had these green or energy-efficient features on their multilist. So we started a process of working with GSBR leadership, and the Ozarks Green Building Council came up with a list of features for the listings.

There are certified green homes, and there are things people just call green. Does a programmable thermostat in the hallway make it green? Well not exactly, but it makes it greener. So we have a section if it’s a certified home, like Energy Star, but then we went through and made a checklist for things such as a high-efficiency furnace or water heater. There are about 20 of these features. We are trying to help current homeowners document and market these features, and we want buyers to be able to search those features. There are more homes than you might think that are not certified but employ a lot of green features – they just need to be documented.

With current economic pressures, is building or buying a green home or office worth the initial investment?
It can cost more, but it’s all relative. If someone comes and says I have $250,000 to build a house, as a contractor do you say, “OK, we can add some thing’s here, change some thing’s here to stay on budget,” or do you automatically say, “That’s going to cost an extra 30 percent?”

Builders, designers and architects can look at ways to help you be greener that aren’t necessarily expensive. With technological and mechanical advances and increased competition, energy-efficient windows, furnaces and Energy Star appliances are cheaper then ever before.