Be it commercial or residential, no property seller ever wants to settle.
But between proper staging to repair jobs and curb appeal, there’s another entirely intangible factor that real estate buyers and sellers alike may be neglecting come time to sign a contract: indoor air quality.
That is, the quality of the air within a property may hold more influence over its market price than one might expect. Here’s how:
The Relationship Between Real Estate and Air Quality
As sustainability and environmental health are held in increasingly higher esteem within our communities, so too will we see those values reflected at the federal level. The Clean Air Act, for example, was enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1963, albeit it faced a series of amendments over several decades — the penultimate of which occurred in 1977.
“During the 1970s, pollution regulations may have resulted in over $80 billion in aggregate economic gains nationwide,” as reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). “In the 1980s … homeowners accumulated $50 billion of benefits.”
In short, the lower the air pollution in a localized area, the higher the price point for those homes on the real estate market.
That being said, professionals within the indoor air quality industry may wonder how this information applies to them, seeing as the aforementioned studies cite that of outdoor air quality, not indoor. But it’s simple: The air and other factors that are outside will commonly find its way inside, thereby impacting the value of a property from the inside out.
Breathing New Life Into The Market
“Many researchers have found that indoor air quality (IAQ) affects tenant-landlord relationships, workers’ health and productivity, and building elements and systems,” according to research published by the Journal of Sustainable Real Estate (JOSRE). “This may imply that IAQ could affect, positively or negatively, the value of buildings.”
Additionally, as indoor air quality awareness continues to diffuse throughout the nation — especially as the airborne spread of the COVID-19 virus recently became a large spread concern — both commercial and residential indoor air assessments have risen in demand.
And should a property prove to have poor air quality while on the market, a potential buyer has the ability to negotiate a lower price, thereby cutting into the seller’s bottom line.
In fact, in terms of residential properties, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development explicitly recommends that potential buyers schedule a home inspection as soon as possible prior to signing a contract.
Opportunity, Optimization, and InstaScope
That all being said, if you’re an IAQ professional whose business is built around air testing, there’s one thing to be sure of: the real estate market presents a real opportunity for you. In this crazy real estate market, home inspectors are slammed and needing quick inspection results for their buyers in order to close properties quickly. Additionally, as awareness increases about the adverse health effects and structural damage of mold and other airborne microbes, so does the desire to include air quality testing.
Home inspectors and IAQ professionals have an opportunity to adopt air quality testing as part of the home buying inspection process. With InstaScope technology, inspectors can conduct air quality testing on-site and give same-day results for home buyers. This increases closure rates and moves the home buying process along.
Be a part of improving the home inspection process in this crazy real estate market. InstaScope is instant air quality testing and mold inspection technology, with on-site testing of every room, and reports generated instantly for you and your clients. Our users are increasing closure rates and performing more inspections than ever possible compared to air cassette and spore traps, plus their customers love the reports the same day.
Efficiency and efficacy are found together in InstaScope. To learn more about how it can help you provide your clients with immediate and reliable results, contact DetectionTek today by calling 720-410-7030 or emailing info@instascope.co!
