Interest Rising in Green Homes

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), there has been a renewed interest in homes sold with green features, as nearly 50% of Realtors surveyed have assisted clients in buying or selling a home with green features, up from 32% from the previous year.

NAR’s 2022 Realtors and Sustainability Report surveyed NAR members nationwide regarding sustainability issues currently facing the real estate industry, and found that roughly two out of three agents and brokers see value in promoting energy efficiency in listings. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said that energy efficiency promotion in listings was very or somewhat valuable, while 35% reported that their multiple listing service (MLS) features green data fields.

"Sustainability continues to play a growing role in consumers' purchasing decisions, and this is becoming even more prevalent in the real estate market," said NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith, a Realtor from Plano, Texas, and a broker associate at Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate in Dallas. "With the residential property market, in particular, home buyers have expressed increased interest in eco-friendly factors like solar panels and energy efficiency."

Roughly three out of four Realtors–77%–said that properties with rooftop solar panels were available in their market. These numbers were highest in the West (89%) and Northeast (86%). Thirty-six percent said that homes with solar panels increased the perceived property value, compared to 30% that said they had no effect.

The features believed to be most important to clients included windows, doors, and siding (36%), proximity to frequently visited places (38%), a comfortable living space (35%), and a home’s utility bills and operating costs (20%).

"More sustainable homes bring benefits to homeowners like cost savings from energy efficiency, health benefits from improved indoor air quality, and increased comfort and durability from material use and construction, and may also increase resale value," said Jessica Lautz, NAR VP of Demographics and Behavioral Insights.

Nearly 33% of survey respondents cited concern for extreme weather events on the housing market in their decision-making process.

More than one out of three respondents–34%–said they were very or somewhat concerned about the impact of extreme weather events.

For the study, NAR invited a random sample of 46,452 active Realtors to fill out an online survey. A total of 2,652 useable responses were received for an overall response rate of 5.7%. At the 95% confidence level, the margin of error is plus-or-minus 1.9%.