Some 56% of property seekers viewed energy efficiency ratings for homes as extremely important, a 17% increase compared to last year, yet only 7% of homes listed for sale on realestate.com.au nationally have an energy efficiency rating declared.
This was according to REA Group’s PropTrack Energy Efficient Housing Report, which analysed the supply and demand of energy efficient ratings and features in homes across Australia.
The report combines data from the 12.7 million Australians who visit realestate.com.au each month with data from the realestate.com.au June-July 2022 Residential Consumer Omnibus Survey.
Findings showed that property seekers from the ACT (65%) and Victoria (60%) placed the greatest importance on energy efficiency ratings.
Cutting energy costs (76%) was the main reason property seekers viewed ratings, the survey showed. Also a top concern was doing good for the environment (57%).
Meanwhile, solar power (59%) remained the most-commonly-searched energy-efficient feature by property seekers on realestate.com.au.
“Energy efficiency and sustainability have become increasingly important in the property industry in recent years as homeowners seek to reduce their impact on the environment,” said Karen Dellow, PropTrack senior analyst “With the cost of energy bills rising and inflation top-of-mind for many households, energy-efficient features, such as good insulation and solar power, are in high demand as they can save money on energy consumption and add value to a home.”
New apartment developments and stand-alone houses have had to meet a minimum Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) rating of 6 as a baseline since 2013, Dellow said. And in August, the National Construction Code (NCC) was updated to increase the minimum rating to 7 stars.
“As new housing stock is built, the national and state level energy efficiency scores are increasing,” he said. “Currently, the national rating is 6.2 while the ACT has the highest rating at 6.9.”
