Berkeley, California, Forces Home Sellers to Make Green Upgrades

The real estate listing for the $1.25 million Mediterranean Revival home in a leafy Berkeley, California, neighborhood, touts the property’s electric heat pumps, solar panels, induction range and an updated electrical panel that’s “EV ready.” The sellers aren’t just green-bragging, they’re showing buyers they’ve complied with a new city ordinance requiring such climate-friendly features.

The Bay Area university town of 120,000 is the first in the US to require sellers and buyers of single-family homes to replace fossil-fuel appliances or make other green upgrades as a condition of sale. It’s one of several cities leveraging real estate transactions to achieve carbon-emissions ...