The “green fields” in Colorado’s Multiple Listing Service are expanding, a change that will make it easier for real estate agents and home buyers to find energy-efficient properties.

As reported on the website of the Residential Energy Services Network, the Colorado Energy Office has been working on the expanded MLS listings so they will include:

• The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index score
• Energy Star homes
• LEED certification
• Certification under the National Green Building Standard

Both buyers and sellers will benefit, RESNET said. Buyers will be able to find homes that use less energy and may benefit from loan programs related to energy efficiency upgrades. Sellers benefit because energy-efficient houses get higher sales prices.

RESNET praised the move as a “significant push to the mainstreaming of the HERS Index Score,” and said efforts to make energy efficiency information also were underway in other markets, including Portland, Oregon, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.