A new NAR survey finds that sustainability can be a competitive edge for commercial buildings, as clients increasingly prioritize energy efficiency, resilience and certified green features.
Sustainability isn’t just a trend—it’s becoming a competitive differentiator in commercial real estate. Client expectations for sustainable features are rising fast, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2025 REALTORS® Commercial Sustainability Report, a survey of more than 2,000 real estate professionals.
Commercial clients aren’t focused only on traditional amenities. They’re asking more about things like kilowatt-hours and operating costs, indoor air quality and even a building’s resilience to extreme weather. In some cases, they’re willing to pay more for sustainability features.
“Commercial real estate agents recognize the importance of sustainability when purchasing, leasing or selling properties,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist. “Properties with green building certifications tend to have higher property values and are more energy efficient than buildings without a certification.”
Nearly a third of real estate pros responding to the survey say green certifications can raise commercial property values in their markets, though another 45% admit they’re unsure.
What Clients Care About Most
When choosing where to buy or lease, clients are evaluating a wide range of features. Agents say the most important sustainable building features to their clients include:
- Utility and operating costs
- Indoor air quality
- Energy-efficient windows/doors
- Resilience to extreme weather events, like wildfires, heat, floods or hurricanes
- Efficient use of lighting
- Smart/connected building systems
- Water-conserving landscaping
The Counselors of Real Estate, a global organization of property advisers and an NAR affiliate, identified “portfolio risk”—ranging from extreme weather to air quality—as one of the top 10 commercial real estate issues to watch in 2026. The group reports commercial pros are increasingly using predictive analytics, climate-risk software, drone surveys and smart building systems to better understand investment vulnerabilities.
“Going forward, risk and resiliency expertise is likely to develop as a specific subset within commercial real estate,” John Hentschel, CRE’s global chair, noted in the report.
Repurposing Gains Momentum
Adaptive reuse is entering more conversations in commercial real estate. About one-third of brokerage firms report they have experience repurposing commercial buildings—most commonly converting office buildings to nonresidential spaces; offices to residential spaces; or retail/mall properties to new nonresidential uses. Repurposing buildings with sustainable features can help reduce waste, revitalize aging properties and help meet a local market’s shifting real estate needs.
“More commercial practitioners are exploring adaptive reuse to transform vacant or underused properties into new spaces, often for residential use,” Lautz says. “Repurposing buildings can be an innovative way to sustainably increase both housing supply and new community spaces.”
How CRE Pros Can Stay Ahead
Before agents can fully leverage sustainability as a competitive advantage, they may want to first navigate the biggest pain points clients are raising. Real estate pros responding to the survey identified the following top challenges that are currently shaping sustainability conversations:
- Improving energy efficiency in existing buildings
- Valuing solar panels and understanding their impact on a transaction
- Lack of information and materials available to REALTORS®
- Limited data on building performance history
- Understanding lending options for sustainable properties
- Extreme weather and climate-related risks (e.g., drought, heat, wildfires, sea-level rise)
- Valuing green or sustainability-certified buildings
- Liability concerns around misrepresenting green features
With these issues increasingly influencing commercial transactions, real estate professionals can strengthen their market edge, such as by:
Marketing green features more consistently. Fifty-five percent of commercial agents say promoting energy efficiency in listings adds value, yet only 13% are aware if their Commercial Information Exchange includes green data fields. Among those whose CIE does include them, just over half use them to highlight energy information, sustainable features and green certifications. Awareness varies regionally, with the Northeast most familiar with green data fields and the South least aware.
Request utility and operations data early. Tenant inquiries are becoming more detailed. More than half of real estate pros surveyed report that their clients are now asking specifically about energy-efficient features and EV charging availability.
Pursue sustainability education or certification. Thirty-seven percent of the real estate pros surveyed say they’ve completed some form of educational or professional training focused on sustainable commercial features, such as those that highlight energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy systems or eco-friendly building materials. The Institute of Real Estate Management’s ESG Skill Badge is a good place to start.
Source: “Agents Find a ‘Green Advantage’ in Commercial Real Estate“
