NEW DATA: Increased Energy Use During COVID

In a newly-released HomeLight data quantifying how heightened energy use during COVID has created a domino effect on homebuyer preferences across the United States.

HomeLight’s most recent Top Agent Insights Report surveyed more than 1,000 top real estate agents across the United States to share their findings on home buying and selling trends they are seeing in their local markets.

Highlights

47% of real estate agents nationwide have seen homebuyers increasingly prioritize energy-efficient features since the pandemic began.

Over 60% of agents nationwide recommend prioritizing windows, which has the biggest impact with buyers compared to smart thermostats, appliances, or water heaters.

This trend is most prominent in the Pacific (58%) and Mountain (51%) regions, while Midwestern buyers appear to be the least concerned (39%).

Buyers care most about whether a home’s windows are ENERGY STAR certified over thermostats, appliances, and water heaters.

Sufficient insulation (65%), LED, or CFL lighting (47%), and proper weather stripping (41%) are other top energy upgrades buyers like to see.

the Pacific, however, solar panels are the biggest draw (54%) in dramatic contrast to the Midwest and South Central regions, where only 8% of agents cited solar panels as a top energy-efficient upgrade for buyers.

To see the full report visit https://www.homelight.com/blog/real-estate-top-agent-insights-q4-2020/