August 8, 2011

REALTORS® Participate in Home Energy Ratings Program

Victoria area REALTORS® will play a key role in a Time of Sale Home Energy Labelling Pilot Project that will provide sellers in the Capital Regional District (CRD) with a free (regular cost $150) EnerGuide for Houses rating that will be placed on the Victoria Real Estate Board’s (VREB) Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System database. The first 100 homes to register in the pilot will receive a home energy assessment which takes into account a home’s windows, doors, insulation, heating equipment and air leakage.

VREB President, Dennis Fimrite, notes that the program represents Phase II of a similar pilot project conducted in 2010 which offered a BC Hydro rebate of the assessment cost but which only applied to sellers on Salt Spring Island and in the Municipality of Oak Bay. "We are pleased to be part of this much wider program that will benefit more sellers and buyers," said Fimrite. "Today’s consumers are interested in the energy consumption of their purchases. The energy assessment will make sellers and buyers eligible for substantial government rebates for home energy efficiency upgrades; it will also provide sellers with an additional marketing tool by providing potential buyers with important information on the energy efficiency potential of a home," added Fimrite.