Green homes and real returns

By Emma Peterson. 

77% of homeowners believe green homes hold more value. What does this mean for contractors?  

Recently, we had the chance to sit down with Allison Hadley, spokesperson of American Home Shield (AHS), for an episode of Contractor Outlook™ about a study conducted for AHS about homeowner interests. She opened the conversation by sharing what the survey found:  

I surveyed about a thousand homeowners nationwide, and I asked them a variety of questions having to do with environmentalism, sustainability, what they wanted out of their homes and what they were prioritizing if they were making green home improvements. And what I found is that green home improvements are popular because people are looking for ways to save as much money as possible on utilities. 

More specifically, the study found that “77% of homeowners believe green homes will hold their value better than traditional homes, particularly as climate change continues to affect how we live in this country, and 82% think that the U.S. government should encourage green home construction.” These numbers are interesting on their own but become powerful business tools when you apply them to real-world operations.  

How can contractors use Allison’s data effectively in their businesses? They can change the way they talk to homeowners. Allison explained:  

If there's one thing we can take away from this is that the key to selling energy efficiency is to stress how much it will save the consumer. Yes, it's good for the environment. Yes, it'll maybe mitigate the effects of climate change, but what will really motivate people is how it's going to drive down the utility bills... And contractors should also pay attention to that 77% who believe green homes are a better investment. When people buy homes, they want something to live in, but also something they might be able to sell someday. Communicating the value and investment potential in sustainability is huge. 

How huge? About $74,000 huge. Allison elaborated, “In the survey, 13% of respondents were planning to buy a home, so I polled those people about their buying habits and found that 44% are trying to buy a green home and 61% are willing to pay up to $73,827 more for a green home.” This willingness to invest not only shows where homeowner priorities are, it also shows where contractors should be focusing their energies to better serve their customers.  

Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording to learn more.