There’s only one way to survive in a housing market that’s in the toilet – you’ve got to channel Gypsy Rose Lee, yessir – “You gotta have a gimmick.”

So if you’re a real estate agent, you don’t have to just sit there and watch your commissions evaporate as if global warming had already hit. No, you can call yourself eco-friendly, take an Eco-Broker course, and specialize in selling green homes.

That’s what’s happening, according to the a recent Wall Street Journal article, How Green Is My Realtor:

“In a bid to stand out in a sagging housing market, an increasing number of real estate agents are marketing themselves as eco-friendly -- connecting environmentally conscious buyers to ‘green’ homes and helping sellers make their homes more eco-sensitive.”

As gimmicks go, I’ve gotta say, I like this one.

Eco Brokers Look for the Green

Brokers are advising sellers on improvements they can make in their homes to green them up – improving insulation, adding solar panels. And not only are they finding eco-buyers the green features more and more people want – they are also able to advise the buyers on how to go about fixing up houses that are not yet environmentally-equipped with fixes that will save energy, water, money and even improve air quality.

Banks Are Also Looking for the Green – With Eco-Friendly Mortgages

And here’s another gimmick I like – banks, too, are going green. They are offering great deals on mortgages -- discounts or bigger loans -- to people who are buying eco-friendly houses or making energy-efficient improvements to their houses. The excellent Wall Street Journal article, by Sara Schaeffer Munoz, says that Bank of America Corp. will give you $1000 credit toward closing fees with mortgages on homes that meet the government’s Energy Star Program.

Do we need any more evidence that Green is the new gold – when it comes to marketing in the year 2008?

HERE ARE SOME USEFUL GREEN REAL ESTATE AND GREEN MORTGAGE RESOURCES

Eco Broker International: Offers eco-courses for realtors.

Green Key Real Estate in San Francisco

Indigo Financial Group, based in Lansing, Mich.: Handling eco-friendly mortgages in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama.

The National Association of Homebuilders: Developing a green building standard along with works with the International Code Council.

U.S. Green Building Council: A nonprofit that rates commercial buildings on energy and eco matters.