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As consumer awareness of climate change and energy efficiency rise, eco-friendly home features are also becoming more common and sought after by buyers. This increasing awareness is reflected in home listing descriptions and the home features agents promote in their listings. Listing descriptions mentioning certain eco-friendly terms, such as “energy efficient,” “zero energy,” and “solar panels,” have become more common during the past six years, real estate listings website Realtor.com found. But other terms are also gaining traction, such as "electric vehicle charger" and "tankless water heater."
According to Realtor.com, from 2018 to 2023 the number of environmentally friendly listings almost doubled from 76,335 listings using prominent eco terms in 2018 to 150,388 in 2023. The use of listing language that describes the home as “energy-efficient” almost tripled from 10,756 listings in 2018 to 29,288 five years later.
“The rise in eco-friendly home listings mirrors trends we’ve seen in specific categories, such as for EV-friendly homes, called out in the team’s deep dive on the most EV-friendly housing markets,” says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “The data suggest that consumer tastes and preferences are leaning in an earth-friendly direction, and sellers are positioning their properties to meet those new and growing demands.”
Some homeowners are driven to save not just the environment, but also some cash—in the form of government kickbacks for adding eco-forward features to their homes.
“It’s worth noting that there are both carrots and sticks nudging homeowners to adopt more eco-friendly features,” Hale continues. “The Inflation Reduction Act included at least two provisions to rebate households for making electric and energy-efficient improvements, and there are many other state and local area incentives.”
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