Studies Say Green Homes Built to Standards Like LEED go for 8% More in Resale Value

Posted by: NSchepis // Student at Bridgewater State

New houses built to meet green building standards like LEED command 8% more than houses built to code. A study from The University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) finds that homes in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (Austin-Round Rock MSA) built to meet standards such as LEED are worth on average $25,000 more in resale value. The study is titled “The Value of LEED Homes in the Austin-Round Rock Real Estate Market: A Statistical Analysis of Sale Premiums for Green Certification,” and looks at 3,800 green certified homes built between 2008-2016. Green certified home owners not only make out on the resale value, but on their energy savings too. Energy cost savings to individual homeowners is 60%. LEED certified homes use 20-30% less energy than standard homes. LEED certified homes enhance the health and wellbeing of occupants and save precious environmental recourses like energy and water. Another study that looks at new houses sold between May of last year and April 30 of this year, conducted by the Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit group based in Portland, Ore., found similar results. It found that newly constructed homes with certifications like LEED sold for 8% more on average compared with non-certified homes. The study also found that existing houses with certifications in the six-county Portland metropolitan area sold for 30 percent more. This was the fourth study in an annual series conducted by Earth Advantage. Each study has shown clear premiums in resale value for certified houses.
 

University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Study:
https://www.usgbc.org/resources/value-leed-homes-austinround-rock-real-estate-market

Earth Advantage Institute Study:
https://www.earthadvantage.org/assets/documents/Publications/NEEA_Home_Valuation_151024-FNLReport%20.pdf