As Generation Y floods the rental and housing market, more builders are finding success by catering to the growing demand for energy efficiency from value-driven consumers, argues John K. McIlwain of the Urban Land Institute. His recent editorial on the Atlantic Cities website predicts that single and multifamily housing will undergo significant increases in energy efficiency, culminating in widespread net zero energy or net plus energy homes by 2030. Here’s a sample:
Energy efficiency is, as one developer puts it, “the new granite countertop.” After all, no one asks what the payback period is for a countertop. Just as items that were once added to a new home or condo for an additional price are now standard, so too are energy-efficient equipment and design becoming standard features expected by the buyer or renter.
This shift is perhaps happening fastest in the single-family home industry as it looks for whatever it can find to move its homes. Green, it turns out, is the most effective way to sell a home. Buyers find it more appealing to buy a home that is already efficient than a less expensive home that needs major retrofitting as well as new appliances and HVAC systems.
It is still hard to show that renters will pay more for an energy-efficient apartment than for a standard one, even when they are paying for the utilities. That said, there is growing evidence that energy-efficient and green apartments rent up faster than other ones, and are experiencing less turnover, both of which drop to the bottom line.
Read the rest at Atlantic Cities
