Energy efficiency is more important than ever when looking for a house to buy, rent or build, according to the latest data from realestate.com.au.
In the September 2023 Residential Audience Pulse Survey, 68% of consumers said that energy efficiency ratings were important when looking for a home, and a third (34%) of respondents said they were extremely important. This is an increase of 6% compared to last year.
Saving money on bills was the primary reason for the rising importance of energy efficiency ratings.
The ongoing cost-of-living pressures experienced over the past 18 months have put additional stress on buyers and renters, motivating them to find additional ways to cut back on spending.
Three-quarters (73%) of respondents cited reducing energy bills as the main reason they viewed energy efficiency as important, while half (51%) also wanted to do good for the environment.
Searches for energy-efficient features on realestate.com.au revealed that solar panels were the most in-demand, making up 77% of all energy-efficient related searches.
Solar panels were the most searched energy-efficient feature in all states except the Australian Capital Territory, where property seekers searched simply for energy efficiency the most.
Known for its sunshine, it is unsurprising that Queensland had the highest volume of searches (48%) for properties with solar panels.
Queenslanders were more interested in water tanks than searchers from any other state and were also interested in properties that are “off-grid”.
“Off-grid” homes are completely disconnected from the energy grid and solely rely on solar power and energy stored in batteries. Nearly 30% of “off-grid” searches came from Queensland.
Queenslanders were also the largest searchers for properties with batteries, which allows them to store the unused energy generated from their solar panels.
Whether it is to save money or reduce environmental impact, more property seekers are taking home energy efficiency seriously and looking for places to live with high energy efficiency ratings.
Features such as solar panels and glazed windows will continue to be important, as well as new technologies such as electric vehicle chargers and batteries for storing surplus energy.
Article source: www.realestate.com.au