Energy efficiency growing factor in home sales

Energy efficiency growing factor in home sales

European Union legislation will require all homes advertised for sale starting in 2012 to publish energy efficiency ratings. These compulsory ratings will provide buyers important energy efficiency information as part of a plan to reduce household carbon emissions by 29 percent by 2020.
This is just one aspect of the growing influence energy efficiency has on home sales as consumers are looking for accurate information regarding the efficiency of homes they are considering purchasing.
In the United States, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said builders are constructing smaller homes with a strong focus on energy savings and performance. Rather than fancy amenities such as vaulted ceilings, multiple bedrooms, and large foyers, builders are including features such as insulated front doors, programmable thermostats, high performance appliances, and energy-efficient lighting.
A readership survey conducted by consumer magazine Better Homes and Gardens showed that home buyers are seeking homes with increased energy efficiency features. Among features respondents indicated they want in a new home were:
Highly efficient HVAC systems (76 percent of respondents)
Energy Star compliant appliances (79 percent of respondents)
Energy efficient home design (66 percent of respondents)
Natural lighting (65 percent of respondents)
Another indicator in the United States concerns MLS, or Multiple Listing Service. All homes for sale in the United States must be listed on the MLS, a database available to real estate agents and related professionals. A new addition, called the Green MLS Toolkit, is a cross-industry effort designed to help homebuyers quickly find “green” homes for sale and is being used by real estate agents and brokers with clients looking for specific energy efficient standards in a new home.
A challenge remains with older homes as new homes in the United States are far more efficient than older ones, making the aging homes less desirable.
However, there are efforts underway to help improve the energy efficiency of aging homes, giving them a higher resale value. Testifying before the United States Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which is discussing a slate of new energy efficiency laws, Ohio custom homebuilder Tony Crasi laid out some interesting statistics.
"The introduction of modern energy codes in the early 1990s has significantly improved the efficiency of new construction," he told the committee. "In fact, the Energy Information Administration reports that homes built between 1991 and 2001 consumed 2.5 percent of total energy output in the U.S. By contrast, the 94.5 million older, existing homes consumed 18.4 percent of U.S. energy consumption, meaning the most inefficient housing is the most plentiful."
He testified in favor of policies that would, “promote an effective retrofit plan for older, less-efficient housing that allows builders and remodelers to create the benefits of energy efficiency for all housing."
While energy efficiency is a strong selling point for homes, challenges remain, particularly associated with existing older inventories, which comprise the largest number of homes available for sale.