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In 2009, it will be much easier for homebuyers to be green.

Buying a home has traditionally been a high carbon load activity, guzzling untold gallons of gas and consuming thousands of pages of paper. The ideal of ecological responsibility has finally found its way into the real estate business. From green Realtors and green transaction tools to a set of green criteria for your home, eco-smart buyers will have resources galore at their disposal for their house hunt.

Green Realtors. A "green" Realtor is not one who is carsick; rather, it's a Realtor with the know-how and connections to help buyers and sellers carry out their transactions in an environmentally responsible manner and to locate properties with eco-friendly features. Some brokers and agents tout themselves as eco-smart based on experience, knowledge or even business practices (like driving a hybrid or using biodegradable signs) that they themselves have deemed green. 2009 will see the advent of standardized designations like EcoBroker, a certification held by Realtors who have completed a set of coursework "that in turn helps consumers take advantage of energy efficiency and environmentally sensitive design in real estate properties."

Green Transactions. It was not at all bizarre, in the past, for a single real estate disclosure page to be printed and faxed four or more times to gather the signatures of two buyers, two sellers and each agent, and then copies of the fully executed document made for everyone. Multiply that by the 16 pages of contract, 80 pages of disclosures, and as many as 400 pages of inspection, loan and escrow documents that are generated in the average real estate transaction, and you can see why Realtors rank right up there with lawyers as reluctant tree-killers.

In 2009, Realtors and their trade groups, the National and State Associations of Realtors, will move even further to adopt digital and Web-based transaction management software to eliminate paper waste. In addition to being eco-friendly, digital transactions are also easier for clients. No more printing, signing and driving to a store to fax to your Realtor; you just go online, log in, point and click to sign, and then click again to send the digitally signed document to your Realtor or to get your PDF files of your document. Long-term document storage and retrieval are super simple, too; buyers and sellers who need to look back at an inspection report can go online or pop in a CD-ROM, rather than hunting around for that massive file (that probably got lost in the move) and flipping through papers.

Green House Hunting. House hunting itself is a similarly eco-shameful exercise. Driving around town (sometimes in two cars and often to rule out a place because it is near the shopping mall or on a busy street) is just wasteful. Green homebuyers and their Realtors can use aerial maps and satellite street views to virtually rule it out. How to do this? Find a listing you like on FrontDoor.com, click Map View, then click Satellite to see where the property is located compared to large businesses and busy intersections. Then, go to maps.google.com, enter the listing address and click on street view to see the home from the street, and even look up and down the street to scope out the neighborhood. No gas required, and no exhaust emitted.

A green house hunt can also involve hunting for a green house or at least for a home that allows greener living. At www.nahbgreen.org, homebuyers and sellers can educate themselves about the energy-efficient and eco-friendly features they should look for in newly built homes or consider installing during a pre-sale remodel. If you are looking for older or urban homes, check out www.walkscore.com; it helps buyers find a "walkable" home by providing the "walkscore" and lists of amenities within walking distance of an address or neighborhood.

The greenest house-hunting strategy is to buy lean and sustainable; don't buy a massive McMansion for a family of you and your dog. Buying a properly sized home eliminates the waste of heating and cooling unused square footage. Also, buy near work, school and the other places you frequent to cut your carbon footprint. Better yet, look for a home in a location served well by public transportation to your frequent haunts.

Read the Top 10 Things to Expect in the Housing Market in 2009:

1. Continued market adjustments
2. Action from the Obama administration
3. More assistance programs for homeowners in danger of foreclosure
4. Some calm to the chaos of the banks' restructuring
5. Thorough reviews of mortgage applications
6. Low prices and low interest rates
7. Cool tech tricks and tools for the real estate obsessed
8. Wiser consumers
9. Leaner, greener homebuying
10. An increase in consumer confidence

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• FrontDoor's Top 10 Tips and Advice on Everything Real Estate
• Search Homes for Sale
• First-Time Homebuyer's Guide
• Foreclosure Buying Guide
• Home Seller's Guide
• Home Finance Guide
• Tools and Calculators