STEPHANIE EDWARDS-MUSAinspires real estate pprofessionals all the time. I love the idea of a team of professionals working in concert for our clients and support our efforts with a "Green Design Team" here in Asheville, so I was thrilled to read this post from STEPH. Here she says, "
To build a single Community, let's take in to consideration how many people it takes.
It starts with a Vision,probably from a single person. We then have an Architect or maybe even a team of architects. Electrical Engineers, Plumbing Experts, HVAC Contractors, Landscape Architects, Transportation Engineers - Teams of people that figure out how in the world to get Electricity and Water to all of these people.
Thanks for this, Stephanie
But more importantly, it's the people that drive it. Without jobs we have no money. Without money we have no economy. Without both, we don't exist. The world is changing. We are in an amazing era of awakening. It is said that the jobs that our Middle School Age children will have when they graduate from College do not even exist today.
I often get asked why I am so passionate about Green Real Estate. Preceding that question is why I am in Real Estate. While that is a long story, I will sum it up in just a few sentences.
Real Estate is a Major driving force in our economy. Real Estate is an investment. Real Estate and Homeownership is not only a dream in America but across the Globe. How it differs from Location to Location is not the dream, it is the design. Some Cities grow up, others grow out. Regardless, I find it fascinating on many levels.
To build a single Community, let's take in to consideration how many people it takes.
It starts with a Vision, probably from a single person. We then have an Architect or maybe even a team of architects. Electrical Engineers, Plumbing Experts, HVAC Contractors, Landscape Architects, Transportation Engineers - Teams of people that figure out how in the world to get Electricity and Water to all of these people.
The list could be a blog post in itself. But that is not the purpose of this.
The purpose is the People. The purpose is how Real Estate alone can single handedly drive an economy and why it is time to stop ignoring it. More specifically, how GREEN Real Estate is KEY to a Future Sustainable Economy. I do not mean Sustainable as in Eco Tree Hugger like Economy, I mean a Sustainable Economy in which we thrive and flourish. This post is the first of a Series about how Real Estate is often overlooked in the larger picture. Actually, the people within the Industry. It's not about CEO's that want bailed out because they made extremely poor decisions on how to handle their money. It goes way beyond that.
We hear about Foreclosures, Short Sales and lack of Financing available. But it goes so much further than that also. Think about the whole picture. The people. How many people that have gone in to Foreclosure have jobs directly or indirectly related to Real Estate? Most of them.
Engineers that design Commercial Buildings, Bankers that Finance those projects. The people that are actually out there swinging the hammers to build all of the above. All the way down to people that work in the Retail stores that sell products to our Communities and our Baristas at Starbucks that are working in buildings that are on...Real Estate.
But, enough of what is happening now. What is going to happen in the future? The Economy will turn around eventually. And while we are all suffering in one way or another we should be careful to NOT be hasty and make rash decisions on how to fix the Economy right this second. I said the other day on my Facebook that:
"I am offically redefining the term 'recession' as Get off your butt and think outside the box"
The key to Real Estate and it directly being a driving force in our Economy is not just about the Real Estate Agents. It's not just about the Homeowners or even the Banks that give the Financing.
The key is the number of jobs that it can create. Specifically the number of jobs it can create with a Sustainable and Forward thinking approach. We may be losing jobs, we may continue to lose jobs for another couple years. Do we just sit around and watch it happen? Personally, I do not like to think about what is wrong, I prefer to think about how to fix the problem. Every Business likely has a Business Plan. Our Economy is one large Business. Shouldn't it have a Business Plan also?
What we need is to combine another driving factor in our Economy with Real Estate. Education - Job Training.
Education is looked at most often as for children. Our Future. And while the jobs that our middle school children will have when they grow up do not exist today, that does not fix right now. I believe that we will see a surge in the number of College Students that will pursue Engineering and Architecture degrees. But the term Engineer and their job profile will change dramatically over the next 15 years. The people that will educate and train our children are right here today in the work force.
Again, Real Estate being a driving force behind that. I believe that we, as an industry, will be forced to raise the bar in professionalism, knowledge and expertise.
The next post will be regarding possibly the absolute most important part in the Future of Real Estate.
Architecture.
Architects hold the expertise to help make our future flourish and create jobs. More specifically they are the key to a Sustainable Economy - and this time I mean in the way that most people would consider Tree Huggerish.
But looking at the larger picture, its not about being a Tree Hugger. It's about Smart Growth. It's about not making a quick decision on how our future is going to work and how our economy will continue to thrive day in and day out. It's about the people. It's about us and our children. Working. Living. The Dream that most of us in the Real Estate Industry are so passionate about. Our Homes.
GREEN real estate professionals) have in common?
le in 2009
We love the idea of showing current residents and those relocating Asheville's newest "Green" offerings. From Green-Built homes to Eco- Communities and Conservation Neighborhoods, from Equestrian Estates and Horse Farms with Trails that lead off into conservation lands, from homes for 1st time homebuyers to Historic Properties (see ECO-FRIENDLY PROPERTY TOUR LINK) 
(here it is...go to the link for a more readable version) 
professional interpretation from the vantage point of the local expert. 
Rapport, as everyone knows, is an essential part of building a relationship with clients, whether buyers or sellers.
In our blogging rapport building is seemingly one-sided, for how can we develop rapport with an unknown entity, a faceless reader whose intentions, needs and personality are yet to be discovered? But can the reader not begin to establish a relationship with us without our even knowing it? Of course they do, unbeknownst to us.
The next phase of rapport building emerges when a face-to-face contact results…once the consumer has reached a comfort level whereby our direct assistance is desired, and they cry out for that personal meeting. While in the past this truly began the traditional establishing of rapport, Web 2.0 has added another dimension, since the rapport is already well underway. Many of the uncomfortable or cautious interactions of the “first meeting” in the past have now been replaced by a heightened comfort level and sense of “knowing” made possible by our blogging. The consumer already knows much about us, likes what they see, and has taken the next important step in the relationship.
doubt about it, for me, writing a post each day, focusing it for my clients and prospective clients who are interested in GREEN and sustainable homes, conservation land, eco design and development is not only satisfying, but productive . 
Going beyond this, it seems that the door to longevity and happiness in the business of real estate is opened by making the choice to, as Joseph Campbell advised, "FOLLOW YOUR BLISS"... With that in mind, here are a few links we love:
head."
According to Kentfield Architect, Sarah Robinson, an Alumni of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture; that Being Green is not just to tear down and build from scratch but it's about "Seeing the untapped potential that already exists." She said:"For us, sustainability is not just about making green consumer choices, but is a lifestyle of resourcefulness that honors inherent value and respects the natural world."
playground, tennis court, lighted ball field and amphitheater.
from the where bustling Patton Avenue intersects Highway 63; or 5 miles from dear "Green Asheville's" city limits; or 1/2 mile from the new Leicester Post Office, there was a beautiful organic farm- 
