New Green MLS Data Fields

ARMLS Offers New Green MLS Data

As consumer awareness of green building and energy efficiency continues to rise, ARMLS and the Fayetteville Forward Green Economy Group (FFGEC) are committed to providing members with the resources they need to serve their clients.

In March 2013, the ARMLS Board of Directors established the Green Fields Task Force to develop a proposal for implementing green building property information in the ARMLS MLS system. The task force consulted a wide range of local stakeholders including REALTOR® members, appraisers, green builders, and the Fayetteville Forward Green Economy Group. The final proposal, approved by the ARMLS Board of Directors earlier this year, will improve agents’ ability to list and search for green homes in our MLS region.

New Green Data Fields

The addition of 42 new pick-list values to existing MLS fields and 5 new Green MLS fields to the current MLS database will ensure that common green property features and big-ticket items are accessible when you’re identifying comparable properties or searching for clients.

Please note that if the listing agent indicates that a property has energy, environmental, and/or sustainability features, it will need supplemental energy efficiency ratings documents provided by the seller.  Although these documents can be uploaded as attachments to the listing itself, the attachments will not be searchable on the MLS.  However, the detailed information will be a valuable resource to appraisers assigning value to green property features.  Below are the new Green MLS fields and picklist values as they will be added to the MLS system. 

New Green Data Fields

1.  New Field (XPROP): Energy Rating / Certification

     Picklist Values:

          - HERS – HERS Rating

          - ENRGSTAR – ENERGY STAR qualified New Home

          - LEED – LEED for Homes

          - NAHBNGBS – NAHB/NGBS-ICC 700

          - OTHER – Other

          - NONE – None

          - UNKNOWN – Unknown

2.  New Field (XPROP): Insulation

     Picklist Values:

          - HIRCEILING – High R Value Ceiling

          - HIRFLOORS – High R Value Floors

          - HIRWALLS – High R Value Walls

          - CELLULOSE – Cellulose

          - STRUCTPAN – Structural Insulated Panels

  

3.  New Field (RES,RNT,FRM): Tubs & Showers Low Flow Toilet

4.  New Field (RES,RNT,FRM): Tubs & Showers Low Flow Faucet

5.  New Field (RES,RNT,FRM): Tubs & Showers Low Flow Shower

New Picklist Values: Field Names are in bold with impacted Property Types listed in parentheses. If current picklist is sorted alphabetically, these values will be included in that sorting; otherwise, new values will be added to end of existing picklist.

Landscaped (XPROP):

     - CONSV – Water Conservation

Lot Desc (XPROP):

     - SOUTH – South Facing

     - RECWAT – Reclaimed Water

     - RAINBL – Rain Barrel System

     - WATCON – Drought Water Conservation

     - RAINCO – Rain Collection

Foundation (XPROP):

     - INSFRM – Insulating Concrete Forms

Roof (XPROP):

     - SOLAR – Solar Shingle

     - LIVIN – Living Roof

     - REFLT – Reflective Roof Coating

Windows (XPROP):

     - ESTR – Energy Star

     - EEFC – Energy Efficient Coating

Appliances (RES,RNT):

     - ESTAR – Energy Star

Floor Covering (XPROP):

     - RECL – Reclaimed

     - BAMB – Bamboo

Amenities (RES,RNT):

     - PTHERM – Programmable Thermostat

     - RECMAT – Recycled Materials

     - PASSOL – Passive Solar Design

     - SOLTUB – Solar Tube

     - RECURB – Recycling Curbside

     - LEDLIT – LED Lighting

     - ESTARAP – Energy Star Appliances

Type/Style (XPROP):

     - STRAW – Straw Bale

     - EARTH – Earthen Built

Air Condition Type (RES,RNT):

     - HISEER – High SEER

     - SOLAR – Solar

     - ESTAR – Energy Star

Heating System (XPROP):

     - ESTAR – Energy Star

Water Heater (XPROP):

     - ONDEMAND – On Demand (In-line)

     - RECIRC – Hot Water Recirculation

Considerations

Although green building is a rapidly growing market, the task force acknowledged that not all REALTORS® have an interest in green real estate. Therefore, the update to the MLS will encourage awareness of green building without being overly intrusive or disruptive.

To promote REALTOR® education and avoid the use of loaded terminology, all new green terms will be defined in the ARMLS Green Efficiency Glossary. The Fayetteville Forward Green Economy Group is using the NAR Green Glossary and member expertise to create these standardized definitions. The definitions are still in development at this time.

Proposal Development

The task force collaborated with stakeholders to develop an extensive list of proposed green data fields. After reviewing over 100 suggested additions, the task force concluded that implementing all of the items as searchable MLS data fields was impractical. It was decided that only the most critical green property features, such as commonly searched items and high-dollar investments, would be implemented as searchable MLS data fields. Each proposed item was critically examined to determine if it was an appropriate and relevant addition to the MLS, based on these criteria.

The task force considered a variety of implementation formats proposed in the NAR “Greening the MLS” toolkit. To improve searchability, the task force proposed creating data fields for specific green features and generic green attributes. This mix of specific and generic data fields will enable agents to list and search for green homes within the ARMLS MLS without specialized green knowledge.

 For questions concerning the new Green MLS Data fields, please contact our office.

Tina Gaston

MLS Administrator

Arkansas Regional MLS, Inc.

479-770-0241

arkmls@gmail.com