Between 2012 and 2015, buyer preferences for 10 green features listed in NAHB’s homebuyer preference survey remained relatively stable. Additionally, three of the ten green features were also included in NAHB’s 2007 homebuyer preference survey, but there was still not much of a difference in the share of homebuyers rating them as essential or desirable.
According to the NAHB’s Eye on Housing blog, Energy Star rated appliances were second overall in the top 150 different home and community features that buyers rated on a consistent scale. In 2015, 90 percent of homebuyers rated Energy Star rated appliances as essential or desirable. In 2012 that number was 94 percent and in 2007 it was 88 percent. Energy Star rated windows were ranked as essential or desirable by 87 percent of buyers in 2015, 89 percent in 2012, and 88 percent in 2007. The third green feature that was included on all three survey’s was insulation higher than required by code, however the wording in 2007 was considerably different, so the results might not allow for an apples-to-apples comparison. In 2015, 81 percent of homebuyers ranked insulation higher than required by code as essential or desirable, the same share as in 2012. In 2007, when it was worded as a “High Level of Insulation,” 93 percent of homebuyers said it was essential or desirable.
In 2012, when seven other green features were added, the results of comparing the share of homebuyers ranking them as essential or desirable remains the same; homebuyer preferences have remained similar. In fact, there is no more than a 3 percent difference between the share of homebuyers in 2012 and 2015 that considered the respective green features to be essential or desirable.
Tankless water heaters and solar water heating/electric systems saw the biggest increases in the three-year span. The share of homebuyers rating tankless water heaters as essential or desirable rose from 65 percent to 67 percent. Solar water heating/electric systems also saw a 2 percent increase, rising to 61 percent from 59 percent.
Overall, Energy Star appliances, Energy Star windows, an Energy Star rating for the whole home, and above-code insulation all ranked among the 10 most popular of the 150 home and community features.
For the full breakdown of the survey including various graphs and charts, follow the link below.
