Here is an artical that I feel our readers will enjoy. Below is just a synopsis. The full article is available at http://www.usgbc.org/News/USGBCInTheNewsDetails.aspx?ID=3637.

Title:
CoStar Study Finds LEED, Energy Star Bldgs. Outperform Peers

Author:
Andrew C. Burr

Source:
CoStar Group

Date Written:
3/26/2008

"A new study by CoStar Group has found that sustainable "green" buildings outperform their peer non-green assets in key areas such as occupancy, sale price and rental rates, sometimes by wide margins.

The results indicate a broader demand by property investors and tenants for buildings that have earned either LEED® certification or the Energy Star® label and strengthen the "business case" for green buildings, which proponents have increasingly cast as financially sound investments.

According to the study, LEED buildings command rent premiums of $11.24 per square foot over their non-LEED peers and have 3.8 percent higher occupancy.

Rental rates in Energy Star buildings represent a $2.38 per square foot premium over comparable non-Energy Star buildings and have 3.6 percent higher occupancy.

And, in a trend that could signal greater attention from institutional investors, Energy Star buildings are selling for an average of $61 per square foot more than their peers, while LEED buildings command a remarkable $171 more per square foot."