Energy efficiency has become increasingly important to Australian property seekers says the latest PropTrack Energy Efficient Housing Report – and solar power is the most sought-after feature among those buying, building or renting.
Released yesterday and partly drawing on results from the realestate.com.au June-July 2022 Residential Consumer Omnibus Survey, the report states 56% of respondents believed energy efficiency is extremely important – well up from 48% in the April 2021 survey.
The result isn’t surprising given the drums of electricity price rises were being beaten around the time of the survey (and more hefty hikes are likely). Reducing utility bill costs remained the top reason consumers were interested in energy efficiency ratings and features (84%), followed by doing good for the environment at 60%. Those in the 35 – 49 years age bracket were the most concerned about environmental issues.
While respondents in all age groups were more concerned about bill shocks than in the previous survey, concern in the 65+ age group increased by 64% compared to 2021.
Desired Energy Efficiency Features
Also not surprising was of all sustainability-related property features, solar power was the most popular.
- Solar power: 71%
- Efficient Lighting: 63%
- Type/quality of insulation: 60%
- Draught-proofing/ventilation: 59%
- Orientation of home to sun: 58%
- Energy efficient appliances: 57%
- Rainwater tanks: 53%
- Window glazing: 50%
- Window position and size: 49%
- Building materials in relation to sustainability: 36%
- Greywater systems: 33%
The only regions where solar power didn’t top the list were the ACT, where window glazing took the top spot, and Tasmania, with 75% of respondents ranking insulation number one. The report notes more than 90% of all searches on realestate.com.au for energy efficient features in the last 12 months have been for solar power.
Electric vehicle charging also gets a mention in the report. But EV chargers aren’t high up on searchers’ wish lists yet; accounting for just 0.02% of searches and most of this activity was in Victoria and New South Wales. It will be interesting to revisit EV charging stats in just a few years’ time.
Buying A Home With Solar Installed
Buying a home with solar panels already installed can be an attractive prospect; avoiding having to organise a system installation after moving in. Unfortunately, not all solar systems installed across Australia are of good quality that will stand the test of time. And given the age and capacity of some earlier installations, they may not be suited to the needs of today’s households.
It’s important to determine if an existing PV system on a property will be an asset; or potentially a liability requiring expensive repairs, upgrades or even full system replacement. Discover what you should know about buying a home with an existing solar installation.
The full PropTrack Energy Efficient Housing Report September 2022 can be viewed here.
About Michael Bloch
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Minor correction, you seem to have confused the April 21 figures with the June-July 22 figures.
Reduce your regular energy bills
-84% (2021)
-76% (2022)
Do good for the environment
-60% (2021)
-57% (2022)
Be environmentally conscious, not just cost conscious
-60% (2021)
-57% (2022)
Reduce your carbon emissions/impact on the environment
-59% (2021)
-53% (2022)
Reduce your chance of bill shock (i.e. unexpected high bills)
-36% (2021)
-50% (2022)
So while concerns over regular energy bills have dropped by 8%, which is weird, concern over bill shock has risen 14%. Conversely environmental concerns have dropped 3%-6%. It’s not a lot, but suggests majority concern regarding the environment is shaky. If power and other costs of living, continue to rise then reducing bills and avoiding bill shock may become the dominant duo. If power prices start to drop … well lets just leave fantasy writing to authors. 😉