Changing the Real Estate industry with Craig Foley

In an ever changing and complex world, the real estate industry must change. The change needs to come from all levels: from designers and architects, builders and developers, planners and policy makers. This is especially true for real estate agents.

The residential real estate industry has been pushing out repetitive platitudes for a long time. Agents tout that they can help a buyer find their dream home; or they promise a homeowner that they can help sell a property for the most amount of money in the least amount of time. 

But how many real estate agents talk about lowering operating costs? Or creating comfortable, resilient, and healthy home environments?

Craig Foley, the Chief Sustainability Officer for LAER Realty Partners and the team leader at REthink 39 of Boston, Massachusetts, has been working at the forefront of this change for more than a decade. What he first saw as an opportunity to work with buyers and sellers that were more environmentally motivated turned into an obligation the more he saw the threat of climate change.

Craig’s team, REthink39, is devoted to lowering the 39% of U.S. energy consumption attributed to the built environment and believe they can be part of a solution with every transaction closed. Their work has helped to forge the way to how high performance homes get valued, and how buyers can help update properties to be more energy efficient.

Through his work, Craig has been active with the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) through its Sustainability Advisory Group and currently serves on Fannie Mae's Energy Advisory Council and Freddie Mac's Energy Efficiency Task Force.

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This podcast isn’t just about ideas—it’s about action. From these conversations, two organizations have emerged to bring regenerative real estate to life:

Latitude Regenerative Real Estate is the world’s first regenerative-focused real estate brokerage, dedicated to aligning values-driven buyers and sellers. With a strong presence in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions, Latitude also supports purpose-driven developments across North America through strategic marketing and branding services. If you're looking to buy, sell, or amplify a regenerative project, Latitude is your trusted partner.

Hamlet Capital is an investment and development firm committed to building resilient communities rooted in working farms. If you’re developing an agrihood or conservation community, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can turn visionary ideas into thriving, place-based investments.