FAQ | Sanctuary Certified Homes

The Program

What is Sanctuary Certified Homes? +

Sanctuary Certified Homes is the first residential property wellness certification program in the United States. We assess homes across six environmental dimensions — air quality, radon, light, sound, EMF, and temperature — and assign a verifiable Sanctuary Score. Homes that meet our standard receive the Sanctuary Certified designation.

Who founded it, and why? +

Sanctuary was founded by Melissa Merriman, an Associate Broker and Team Lead at Keller Williams Steel City who has been one of the top-producing agents in Western Pennsylvania for nearly two decades. After observing more than a thousand transactions, she identified a consistent pattern: buyers were making instinctive decisions about how homes felt — and no standardized framework existed to explain or measure those feelings. Sanctuary is the answer to that gap.

Is this really the first program of its kind? +

Yes. There are home inspection frameworks, energy efficiency certifications (like LEED and Energy Star), and wellness building standards for commercial properties (WELL and Fitwel). But no standardized, agent-delivered residential property wellness certification existed in the US before Sanctuary. We are the first to bring a measurable environmental health standard directly to the residential transaction.

Is Sanctuary the same as a home inspection? +

No — and understanding the difference matters. A traditional home inspection evaluates structural and mechanical systems: the roof, foundation, HVAC, plumbing, electrical. It answers the question "is anything broken?"

Sanctuary answers a different question entirely: "how does this home affect the people living in it?" We measure the invisible environmental factors — air quality, acoustic environment, light quality, EMF exposure, radon, and thermal consistency — that shape how a home feels and how it impacts your health over time. The two assessments are complementary, not interchangeable. We recommend both.

The Assessment

What does the assessment actually involve? +

A Sanctuary Certified agent visits the property and conducts a full environmental assessment using calibrated instruments. We measure:

Air quality — particulate matter, VOCs, CO₂, and humidity
Radon — the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers
Light — quality, access, and natural light consistency throughout the home
Sound — ambient noise levels and acoustic environment
EMF — electromagnetic field exposure from wiring and devices
Temperature — thermal consistency across rooms and floors

The process typically takes 2–3 hours depending on property size. You receive a full written report with individual dimension scores and your overall Sanctuary Score.

Do I need to prepare the home before the assessment? +

No special preparation is needed — and in fact, we prefer to assess the home in its normal, inhabited state. We're measuring how the home actually performs day-to-day, not how it performs under ideal conditions. Don't clean the air, open every window, or change your routines. Let it be what it is.

What is the Sanctuary Score? +

The Sanctuary Score is a composite score from 0–100 reflecting a home's environmental quality across all six dimensions. Each dimension is scored individually against established health benchmarks, and the overall score is a weighted composite. Homes scoring above our minimum threshold receive the Sanctuary Certified designation. The full report breaks down each dimension score so you know exactly where a home excels and where there is room for improvement.

What if my home doesn't pass? +

You receive a full report regardless of score. For homes that don't meet certification thresholds, the report identifies the specific dimensions that need attention, explains what the readings mean, and outlines what remediation typically looks like.

Many issues are addressable without major renovation — air quality improvements, radon mitigation, acoustic treatments, and lighting upgrades are all within reach for most homeowners. Once remediation is complete, you can schedule a re-assessment and pursue certification. We don't leave you with a number and no next step.

Methodology & Standards

Who decided what the benchmarks are? +

The Sanctuary Score benchmarks are grounded in established scientific and public health standards — primarily EPA guidelines for indoor air quality, radon, and environmental pollutants, and WHO (World Health Organization) standards for noise exposure, air quality, and human health thresholds.

These are not proprietary thresholds invented to make homes look good or bad. They are the same standards that public health agencies use to define what safe, healthy indoor environments look like. Where EPA and WHO standards overlap, we apply the more protective threshold.

Is the methodology peer-reviewed or externally validated? +

The underlying standards are — the EPA and WHO frameworks we use are built on decades of peer-reviewed environmental health research. The Sanctuary program itself is a practitioner framework developed from direct field experience across hundreds of residential transactions, calibrated against those established thresholds.

We are actively pursuing external validation partnerships as the program expands nationally. The science behind what we measure is settled. The delivery mechanism — bringing it into the residential real estate transaction — is new.

Why these six dimensions and not others? +

These six dimensions represent the environmental factors most consistently linked to human nervous system response, long-term health outcomes, and the subjective sense of how a home feels to live in. They are measurable with calibrated instruments, comparable across properties, and actionable — meaning if a score is low, there are known ways to improve it.

They also represent what buyers are already sensing but can't articulate. Sanctuary gives language and data to an experience that has always been real.

For Sellers

Why should I certify my home before selling? +

Health-conscious buyers are a growing and increasingly vocal segment of the market. They ask about air quality. They ask about radon. They want to know that the home they're buying actually supports their wellbeing — not just their square footage needs.

A Sanctuary Certification answers those questions before they're asked — with verified data, not a seller's word. It's a meaningful differentiator in any market, and it signals to buyers that you're a seller who takes the home seriously.

Does certification affect my home's value? +

Formal appraisal impact data is still being established as the program grows. What we do know is that wellness certifications in comparable programs (WELL, Fitwel for commercial) consistently correlate with premium pricing and faster time-to-close. The more immediate benefit for sellers is marketability — the ability to attract and convert health-conscious buyers with verifiable data rather than competing solely on price.

Does the certification transfer to the buyer? +

Yes. The full Sanctuary Score report transfers with the sale. The buyer receives the complete assessment — every dimension score, every reading, and the methodology behind it. It becomes part of the home's documented history, the same way a home inspection report does.

What if the assessment reveals a problem I didn't know about? +

That's actually one of the most valuable things Sanctuary can do for a seller — surface issues before a buyer's due diligence does. A problem found before listing is a problem you can address on your timeline, at your pace, with the ability to remediate and re-certify before the home goes to market. A problem found during a buyer's inspection is a negotiating liability. Knowledge is leverage. Always.

For Buyers

What does buying a Sanctuary Certified home actually mean for me? +

It means someone has measured the environmental quality of the home you're buying — not guessed at it, not described it in listing language, but measured it with calibrated instruments against established health standards.

You receive the full Sanctuary Score report with the sale. You know the air quality. You know the radon levels. You know the acoustic environment and the light quality. You're not buying blind on the dimensions that most affect how you'll actually feel living there.

Can I request a certification on a home I'm considering buying? +

Yes. Pre-purchase assessments are available. If the seller hasn't had the home certified and you want the data before making an offer or completing due diligence, a Sanctuary Certified agent can conduct an assessment and provide you with a full report. Many buyers find this invaluable — especially for older homes where air quality, radon, and EMF environments can vary significantly.

I've toured a lot of homes and some just feel better than others. Is that what Sanctuary measures? +

Exactly that. The feeling you're describing is real — it's your nervous system responding to the environmental conditions of the space. Air quality, light, acoustic environment, and thermal consistency all register in the body before the conscious mind can name them.

Sanctuary exists because that experience has always been real but never measurable. We give it a number. We give it a report. We give you something you can point to and say: this is why this home felt different.

Should I still get a traditional home inspection if a home is Sanctuary Certified? +

Yes, always. Sanctuary and a traditional home inspection answer completely different questions. The home inspection evaluates structural and mechanical systems — the roof, foundation, plumbing, HVAC. Sanctuary evaluates the environmental and atmospheric conditions that affect your health and wellbeing day-to-day. You need both. They are not interchangeable, and one does not replace the other.

For Agents

Do I have to be with a specific brokerage to become Sanctuary Certified? +

No. Sanctuary Certified is brokerage-agnostic. You need an active real estate license and a commitment to serving health-conscious clients. That's it. The program is designed to travel with you regardless of where you hang your license.

How long does the agent certification process take? +

From application to certified agent, most people complete the process in 2–4 weeks depending on schedule. The training is designed to fit around an active practice — not disrupt it. You'll come out knowing how to conduct the assessment, interpret the results, communicate the data to clients, and position Sanctuary as a meaningful differentiator in your listing and buyer consultations.

What's the business case for me as an agent? +

Sanctuary gives you a concrete, differentiated answer to the question every seller asks: "Why should I list with you instead of someone else?"

It's not a marketing claim — it's a certification backed by EPA and WHO standards. It attracts health-conscious buyers who are often higher-intent and less price-sensitive. It creates a new conversation with sellers about home readiness. And it positions you at the leading edge of a wellness real estate market that is growing nationally. Agents who get in early own the positioning in their market.

Is Sanctuary available outside of Pittsburgh? +

The program launched in Western Pennsylvania and is actively expanding. If you're an agent in another market who wants to bring Sanctuary to your area, apply here — we'd love to talk. Multiple agents from other markets have already expressed interest, and we are building an expansion framework now.

Your questions, answered.