Homebuyers are showing a strong interest in residential features tailored to suit a changing climate and rising energy costs, according to a survey from Homes.com.
For its New Construction: What Buyers Want Survey, Homes.com partnered with YouGov in May to poll more than 1,000 people aged 25-plus who have incomes of at least $50,000 and either purchased a new single-family home in the past two years or plan to buy a newly built property in the next two. See the full methodology.
Energy-efficient appliances draw interest
When it comes to eco-friendly features homebuyers seek, energy-efficient appliances steal the show. Owners and intended buyers of new-construction homes — 65% and 72%, respectively — deemed energy-efficient appliances very/extremely important, according to the survey. For first-time buyers, that metric was even higher: 77% said they were extremely important.
“It’s a type of buyer that is asking, ‘Do you have Energy Star appliances?’ or ‘Do you have anything made of recycled materials?’ or ‘What are the sustainability features of this?’” said Angie Roseman, leader of national accounts for Georgia-headquartered Beazer Homes. It isn’t a priority for every homebuyer, although she did note an interest in appliances overall, in particular.
“I think people do ask about the energy efficiency of appliances because that’s what they know about,” she said. At the same time, some buyers "want to make sure that they’re not getting something that’s either super expensive or low quality because it’s a green product ... They want to make sure they’re not sacrificing comfort for sustainability.”
Patricia Moroney — an agent at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty who listed the 43-home Bridges at Whitestone in Queens, New York — has observed a similar trend.
"I don't know if that's because of the area we're covering or the price point we're in, but it just doesn't seem to be a major feature for me as a real estate agent working with buyers or developers," she said.
Carol Tamayo, a homebuyer at the Lakeside Pointe community in North Carolina, noted that she and her husband did opt for a tankless water heater. This option heats water only as needed and is generally considered more energy efficient. But other energy-efficient appliances weren't something "we would really question with the builder as we were meeting with them," she noted.
Regional influences, weather may affect demand
At Pearl Homes, a Florida-based homebuilder, sustainability is a core focus: Their zero-energy communities rely on solar arrays and batteries, putting them at the forefront of eco-living and in line with the 58% of first-time homebuyers in the survey who indicated that solar panels are a very/extremely important feature for choosing a home. Among new construction owners and intenders, that was roughly 42%.
But Pearl found that the way sustainable elements help their homes to withstand storms and hurricanes in their Sunshine State market is even more attractive to homebuyers.
“We found that our resilience is dominating sustainability,” explained Pearl Homes founder and president Marshall S. Gobuty. Their solar-and-battery strategy means homes in their communities — such as the Hunter’s Point development during hurricanes Milton and Helene in 2024 — can keep the lights on even when neighbors lose power.
Low-maintenance landscaping can be attractive
For features outside the home, the survey found ample interest in low-maintenance landscaping.
Sixty-eight percent of first-time buyers rated the characteristic as very or extremely important. Intending buyers and new owners followed closely, at 69% and 59%, respectively.
Outdoor patio space was similarly important: 65% of first-time buyers, 63% of new owners, and 66% of intenders ranked the feature very or extremely important.
Many buyers prefer a “seamless” indoor-outdoor transition “into the covered patio,” Roseman explained. “That’s a super popular option.”