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The Australian, 19 August 2004
Star system sets new standards
 
WHILE five-star environmental standards for new homes came into force in Victoria and New South Wales on Thursday, July 1, a company dedicated to eco efficient living throughout Australia is rating properties to 25 stars.While the built-form is the base for the new five-star energy efficiency standards, national real estate consultancy ECOproperty Pty Ltd assesses five major categories - Land, Built Environment, Community, Energy and Water - then rates features within these categories.
ECOproperty's founder and managing director, Catriona Jane MacDiarmid said that while the new legislated standards were a step in the right direction, ECOproperty went beyond five stars for any property with a much more detailed assessment of the whole property.
"We're providing maximum benefit to the buyer and seller," she said.
ECOproperty caters for people buying or selling environmentally responsive homes, farms and businesses and has been operating since 1997.
ChristieWalk"Our aim is to achieve a transition of property ownership based on satisfying relationships between people and organisations with a commitment to ecological sustainability," MacDiarmid said.
"We're encouraging an appreciation of the environmental assets created on a property as well as recognising the contribution of the current owners in caretaking the land."
With escalating awareness and appreciation of environmental sustainability, ECoproperty is a resource for the property industry and carries up-to-date information about the implications of building rating legislation as it applies in each state or territory.
ECOproperty also has a range of products and services for homeowners, real estate agents, builders, farmers, community organisations, local government, authorities and government departments and operates a national network of design and building advisers (eg, permaculture design consultants, ecological architects, builders, energy efficiency designers, soil consultants et cetera).
Any property owner and all real estate agents can have their clients' properties assessed and issued with an ECOproperty certificate.
If the property is available it can be listed for sale through ECOproperty's core marketing channel, its website www.eco.com.au and a range of other promotional activities.
ECOproperty can direct sellers to local agents aligned with ECOproperty.
The site currently displays 21 properties for sale, valued at more than $18 million.
Two projects have a 25-star rating: apartments in Eco-City Development's Stage 3 Christie Walk project in Sturt St, Adelaide (see artist's impression) and the WestWyck project in Brunswick, Melbourne.


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