Building buzzwords like ‘sustainability,’ ‘smart design’ and ‘energy efficiency’ were all the rage in 2008. Under the country’s new leadership, the environmentally sound theory behind them may become policy in 2009 and beyond.

For Lexington real estate agent Miyana Bovan, neither the theory nor the practices are anything new. She has been of the cutting edge of sustainability for years, and now is one of the most knowledgeable agents in Massachusetts – she is also one of only four Realtors in the Bay State to have the Green designation.

Bovan credits her childhood in Serbia, where resources were limited and smart design was a necessity, for her early awareness of the philosophy that has only recently become popular in the U.S. Her first foray into American green real estate was in 2001, when she and her husband bought and refurbished a house in East Lexington to fit their family of four. It took years to secure all the permits from the town, but finally they built their green home, moving in 2006. They used sustainable materials, bought the best insulation, upgraded the windows, and installed an energy efficient heating system.

When Bovan’s neighbor offered to sell her his house on their small street in 2005, she bought that, too, and refurbished it to make it green. She sold her first house for $805,000 in May 2008, despite an assessed value of $599,000, and moved in to the newly refurbished home across the street.

Now she is planning to build two more homes on the land at the end of her street, this time building them according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria – a certification given out by the U.S. Green Building Council.

From Green Builder To Broker

Bovan liked building her green houses. She liked selling her house. She found the work important; she’s philosophically entrenched in lowering American consumption and promoting smart design. So she got her real estate license.

The real estate license was just the beginning. She quickly worked toward two professional designations: EcoBroker and Green.

The designation of EcoBroker has been around since 2002, and requires Realtors to complete three courses on environmentally hazardous building materials, energy efficiency and selling green homes.

The Green designation, offered by the National Association of Realtors, requires a two-day core course and a one-day elective.

Those two courses, which can be completed almost entirely online, were only an appetizer – Bovan hungered for something more substantial.

“If you’re starting from scratch, it’s really a good way to learn some of the general information, but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

Bovan took a course at the Harvard Extension School in sustainability in design in the fall semester.

“I’m just so fascinated about this, as a practitioner,” she said. “I just couldn’t stop.”

Turning Green Into Greenbacks

It costs 2 percent more to build a building to LEED specifications, according to Forbes Magazine, but the building uses between 25 percent and 30 percent less energy than conventional buildings.

That energy savings pays for the extra construction cost quickly, and green homes have held their value better than other homes, according to a study by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2008. That makes them a commodity that conscientious buyers are looking for in a recession.

Anne Rendle, CEO of the Northeast Association of Realtors, has seen the need for green expertise, and said the Green designation has become very popular with her members.

“There are a lot of clients and homebuyers looking for Realtors that know about what it means to be green,” Rendle said.

Bovan said she become a real estate agent “literally on the day the whole market collapsed” in September. Despite the worst real estate climate Massachusetts has seen in 20 years, her designations have brought her a few clients looking for green homes.

This year, she’s teaching a continuing education course in sustainable design in Lexington, hoping to further promote the green movement popping up around the country.

“I think what’s really driving this is a strong lean on common sense,” she said. “That’s the most sustainable part of the whole movement.”

She is a member of the Carson GMAC office in Lexington which merged with Hammond Residential in mid-January, and that gives her another group to teach about how important – and marketable – sustainable design is.

“Why should [the buyer] have to educate [a] broker when there are a few of us on the market to educate you and help you?” she said. “We need to educate clients, not have them teaching us.”