Drought not drying up local real estate market

When it comes to buying and selling homes, green lawns make a good first impression.

Diana Bernardi of California Lifestyle Realty says the drought has opened the floodgates to many questions from clients.

“They’re asking things like how much is that going to effect my bill,” explained Bernardi. “Is it going to be outrageous? What really is 36 percent? What does that mean in cutting it back down to?”

Even in the desert, Bernardi says most people she sells homes to expect green grass.

“They’ve said if I want brown and I want cactus I can go to Arizona,” added Bernardi.

But, the California Desert Association of Realtors wants to change that. They replaced all the grass at their Palm Desert office with desertscape. By doing so, they save more than 20,000 per month and cut their bill 65 percent.

“It’s my feeling that once you start that culture change it will be embraced and everyone will come to accept it as the norm,” said John Gronewold, CEO of the California Desert Association of Realtors. “It takes a culture change it takes leading by example and we’re willing to do that.”

Gronewold also said the association wants to find ways to help pay for the changes, too.

“One of the things realtors are looking to do is also provide incentives for converting to desert landscape,” he explained. “Maybe that will be a credit of some type a tax credit perhaps or a credit with a landscaping company.”

Bernardi agrees this could help the local real estate economy.

“Always the desert’s been selling a lifestyle,” she concluded. “We now just have a different lifestyle to sell with saving water.”