Demand Increases For Energy Efficient Homes

January 5, 20240

Energy efficiency is more important than ever for those looking to buy, rent or invest.

In the September 2023 Residential Audience Pulse Survey, 68% of consumers said that energy efficiency ratings were important when looking for a home. A third (34%) of respondents said they were extremely important. This is an increase of 6% compared to last year.

Reduce Costs And Help The Environment

Three-quarters (73%) of respondents cited reducing energy bills as the reason they viewed energy efficiency as important. Half of survey respondents (51%) also wanted to do good for the environment.

Homecorp builder developer in Queensland and South Australia

Searches for energy-efficient features on realestate.com.au revealed solar panels were the most in-demand feature. A total of 77% of all energy-efficient related searches related to solar.

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.

Queensland Goes Green

Given its reputation for sunshine, it is no surprise that Queensland had the highest volume of searches (48%) for properties with solar panels.

Queenslanders were more interested in water tanks than other searchers and were also interested in properties that are “off-grid”.

“Off-grid” homes are completely disconnected from the energy grid. This means they solely rely on solar power and energy stored in batteries. Nearly 30% of “off-grid” searches came from Queensland.

Toowoomba Essence Estate house and land for sale

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. This means the value of homes with high energy efficiency is likely to increase. 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.

Homecorp takes sustainable building seriously offering house and land packages that meet the stringent 7 Green-Star rating.

What is Green Star?

Founded by Green Building Council of Australia in 2003, Green Star is an internationally recognised rating system setting the standard for healthy, resilient, positive buildings and places. Developed for the Australian environment, Green Star has certified thousands of sustainable fitouts, buildings, homes and communities right across the country.

  • Reducing the impact of climate change
  • Enhancing our health and quality of life
  • Restoring and protecting our planet’s biodiversity and ecosystems
  • Driving resiliency in buildings, fitouts, and communities 
  • Contributing to market transformation and a sustainable economy
Homecorp house and land packages offer the benefit of our experience and network

The Future Homes program is a Green Star Homes Standard to assess the health, resilience and energy efficiency of our homes.

The Green Star Homes standard will be used to assess Australian homes against three key criteria to help us build homes of our future:

  • Positive: net zero in energy, fully electric, draught sealed, efficient and powered by renewables
  • Healthy: ventilated, comfortable, with products that are better for you
  • Resilient: water efficient and climate change ready.   

To learn more about what Homecorp are building, connect with our team today.