Property seekers on the lookout for greener homes

The report contained data from 12.7 million Australians who visited realestate.com.au each month in conjunction with the results from the website’s June–July 2022 Residential Consumer Omnibus Survey, which has identified trends in sustainable and energy-efficient housing intended on helping consumers and the industry at large in making the most informed property decisions.

The key findings of the report included:

• Over half of respondents (56 per cent) in the June–July 2022 survey considered energy efficiency ratings as “extremely important”, showing an increase of 17 per cent on the previous year.

• Only 7 per cent of listed homes for sale on realestate.com.au nationally have an energy efficiency rating declaration, despite strong demand for such homes.
  
  
• ACT (65 per cent) and Victorian (60 per cent) property seekers placed great importance on energy efficiency ratings.
  
  
• Reduction of energy bills (76 per cent) was the primary reason for property seekers viewing efficiency ratings as important due to the rise in energy costs and inflation. Environmental consciousness was also a top concern at 56 per cent.
  
  
• Solar power was still the most commonly searched energy feature by property seekers on realestate.com.au at 93 per cent.

PropTrack senior analyst Karen Dellow said: “Energy efficiency and sustainability have become increasingly important in the property industry in recent years as homeowners seek to reduce their impact on the environment.

“With the cost of energy bills rising and inflation top-of-mind for many households, energy efficient features, such as good insulation and solar power, are in high demand as they can save money on energy consumption and add value to a home.”

Ms Dellow further stated new apartments and standalone houses have been required to meet a minimum National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) rating of 6 as a baseline since 2013.

“In August, state and federal building ministers agreed to update the National Construction Code (NCC) to increase the minimum rating to 7-stars,” Ms Dellow said.

“As new housing stock is built, the national and state level energy efficiency scores are increasing. Currently, the national rating is 6.2 while the ACT has the highest rating at 6.9.”

She stated that this has had a positive effect on the level of importance buyers and sellers place on energy-efficient housing in the ACT.

“Only the ACT has a significant proportion of properties that meet the economically optimal rating of 7.5, with 22 per cent of rated properties there or above,” she said.

Recently, federal, state and territory building ministers have agreed to the National Construction Code 2022 to include liveable housing provisions, new residential efficiency standards and condensation mitigation measures.

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