Evidence of rational market valuations for home energy efficiency

According to this study, residential real estate markets assign to energy-efficient homes an incremental value that reflects the discounted value of annual fuel savings. The capitalization rate used by homeowners was expected to be 4%-10%, reflecting the range of after-tax mortgage interest rates during the 1990s and resulting in an incremental home value of $10 to around $25 for every $1 reduction in annual fuel bills. Regression analysis of American Housing Survey data confirms this hypothesis for national and metropolitan area samples, attached and detached housing, and detached housing subsamples using a specific fuel type as the main heating fuel.