The First Environmental Wellness Certification for Residential Real Estate

Your home should feel as good as it looks.

You've walked into houses that looked right on paper and felt wrong the moment you stepped inside. You've also walked into spaces that stopped you — and you couldn't explain why.

That feeling is real. It's measurable. And until now, no one in real estate has had a framework for it. Sanctuary Certified is the first environmental wellness certification for residential homes — built for the part of buying and selling that has always been true but never had a name.

Certify My Home Learn How It Works

The Problem

You already know something is missing. You just haven't had the data.

Buyers make one of the largest financial decisions of their lives based almost entirely on what they can see. Square footage. Finishes. Location. Curb appeal.

You've stood in a home that checked every box — right size, right price, right neighborhood — and still something felt off. You couldn't name it. No one asked you to. The industry handed you square footage and a disclosure form and called it due diligence.

But your nervous system was doing its own assessment the entire time. The air quality. The light. The sound coming through the walls at 6am. The way the temperature drops in the back bedroom. None of it showed up in the listing. None of it was measured. None of it was yours to point to.

Sanctuary exists because that gap is real — and because the people living in it deserve better than "it just feels right" as the best answer anyone can give them.

Read the Origin Story →

Air Quality

Indoor air is 2–5× more polluted than outdoor air. Most homes have never been tested.

Radon Exposure

The second leading cause of lung cancer in the US — present in homes in every state.

Lighting Rhythms

Natural and artificial light quality directly affect sleep, mood, and circadian health.

Acoustic Comfort

Chronic noise exposure elevates cortisol, disrupts sleep, and increases cardiovascular risk.

Electromagnetic Fields

EMF exposure from wiring and infrastructure is a growing consideration for health-aware buyers.

Thermal Balance

Temperature inconsistency affects sleep quality and daily comfort in ways sellers rarely disclose.

The Process

Four steps to a certified home.

Assessment

A certified Sanctuary professional visits the property and conducts a comprehensive environmental measurement across all six dimensions using calibrated instruments.

Lab Analysis

Samples and readings are processed and analyzed against established health benchmarks and peer-reviewed environmental standards.

Score & Report

You receive a detailed Sanctuary Score — a dimension-by-dimension breakdown with an overall score out of 100 and context for every finding.

Certification

Qualifying homes receive the Sanctuary Certified designation — documented, transferable, and available to share with buyers as part of any listing.

Request a Certification

Sample Sanctuary Score™

123 Maple Street · Pittsburgh, PA — Example Report

88 /100 Sanctuary Certified

Air Quality

Radon

Light

Sound

EMF

Temperature

For illustrative purposes only. Scores reflect a sample property and do not represent any actual assessment result.

Why It Exists

Built on a pattern that thousands of transactions made impossible to ignore.

After nearly two decades and more than a thousand transactions, Melissa Merriman stopped accepting that buyers' instincts were inexplicable — and built the framework to prove they weren't.

Environmental Dimensions Measured

1st

Certification of Its Kind in the US

$69.5M

In Sales Volume, 2025

Exhibiting at Pittsburgh Live Well Expo · May 1–2, 2026 · David L. Lawrence Convention Center

For Homeowners

Find out what your home is actually made of.

Get a complete environmental assessment and a Sanctuary Score you can stand behind — whether you're selling, buying, or simply want to know. Certify My Home

For Agents

Become a certified Sanctuary agent.

Join a growing network of professionals trained to assess, communicate, and close on the environmental quality of homes. First in your market wins. Learn About Certification

Disclaimer: Sanctuary Certified Homes provides environmental data assessments for informational purposes only. The Sanctuary Score and all assessment findings are not intended to constitute medical advice, diagnose any health condition, or serve as a guarantee of health outcomes. Results reflect conditions measured at the time of assessment and may change over time. Sanctuary Certified Homes is not a licensed medical, environmental engineering, or public health authority. Homeowners and buyers are encouraged to consult qualified professionals regarding any health, safety, or remediation concerns identified in their report. The Sanctuary Certification designation is a proprietary program standard and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or equivalent to any government agency, regulatory body, or third-party certification organization.