Buyers will pay more for green features: poll

25th May 2010

A poll indicates 59% of home hunters would pay more for an environmentally-friendly property. 

According to the PRDnationwide poll, 30% of respondents would pay up to $10,000 more to buy a house with green features, 20% would pay between $10,000 and $30,000 extra, while 9% would spend $30,000-plus. 

PRDnationwide managing director Jim Midgley says most people “have a small voice inside of them” wanting to protect the environment.   “It really is a question of what they are willing to pay to have an environment-friendly home,” he says. “The research shows that installing enviro-friendly features could make the difference to potential buyers, possibly as much as a nicely-finished kitchen or bathroom would.” 

Water conservation was one of the most highly-desirable green features, due to nationwide battles with long periods of drought.  “Second to this, solar energy is quickly becoming the ‘it’ feature to install in not only new dwellings, but existing older homes as well,” he says. 

Aaron Maskrey, PRDnationwide research director says only 41% of home hunters will not pay extra for green features. “Having an energy-efficient home that results in savings long-term would appeal to most buyers,” he says. “However, there is a point where potential buyers will be put off by the initial cost to installing these features, as they may be out of reach.” 

ENDS