Rehab with "green" materials as a marketing niche
I'm very interested in sustainability and living in non toxic environments. Has anyone ever rehabbed or marketed their properties with low Voc paints, sustainably harvested wood or bamboo, cork or refurbished wood. energy saving appliances, air filters, fruit trees, water gardens, passive house.
I'm thinking this is something I would like to do but of course it's all about economics and these green things usually cost more. But maybe it can command higher rental or saleprices
I don't know a lot on the market/economics side, but in my day job we've spent the last decade studying consumer sustainability behaviors across the U.S. For the most part, the "greenies" are older, white, higher income, and own their own homes. This is not to say there isn't subset of, say, Millennial renters who wouldn't pay a premium for this type of space, but I'd guess they would be in the city and/or on the coasts rather than in the flyover zone. And then, in the coastal cities, you already have high rent, so what will their wallets bear?
I'd be interested in knowing whether other investors have successfully done this.