New data has revealed Australia’s greenest suburbs, where homeowners are living sustainably thanks to a host of environmentally friendly features.
PropTrack’s Energy Efficient Housing Report, released today, analyses data from the 12.7 million Aussies who visit realestate.com.au each month to give an insight into supply and demand trends.
It pinpointed the suburbs with the most listings detailing sustainable home features, as well as the locations where dwellings have a particularly high Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) result.
“Energy efficiency has become increasingly top of mind for property seekers,” Karen Dellow, senior audience analyst at REA Group, said.
On top of the report data, a survey by realestate.com.au in July showed 56% of people believe energy efficiency is extremely important – an increase of 17% on last year’s results.
And the reasons why are broad, Ms Dellow said.
“Respondents were mostly concerned about rising electricity prices and the risk of bill shock,” she said.
“Concern for the environment is still a factor for more than one-in-two respondents, but recent electricity cost rises are predominant.”
The motivation for going green is led by bill shock concerns. Picture: Getty
Greenest suburbs in Australia
There are several data points from the Energy Efficient Housing Report that give insight into the areas around Australia where green is the new black.
For example, the report reveals the suburbs with the highest percentage of for-sale listings that detail energy efficient listings.
“In the past 12 months, the ACT had the most homes listed for sale on realestate.com.au with at least one energy efficient feature as a percentage of all listings, followed closely by Tasmania, which took the top spot last year,” Ms Dellow said.
But the ACT mandates sellers disclose the NatHERS star rating of a home, so she said it’s no great surprise that it has the most listings.
“If anything, the proportion is far lower than expected.”
Suburbs with lots of development activity rate higher on the green scale due to minimum sustainability requirements in new builds. Picture: Getty
That aside, Gidgegannup, a town 40km northeast of Perth, topped the list with 59% of all property listings boasting a home’s green credentials.
Other entries in the top 10 list were Apple Tree Creek in Queensland (66% of all listings), Murrumbateman in New South Wales (59% of all listings), and Mount Macedon in Victoria (58% of all listings).
Perhaps a better indication of an area’s sustainability credentials is the percentage of for-sale listings that declare a home’s NatHERS star rating.
“Nationally, only 7% of listings have a NatHERS energy efficiency rating declared,” Ms Dellows said.
Suburbs with high levels of new development have a larger proportion of declared ratings, given those projects have minimum requirements for energy efficiency.
The suburbs with the most listings detailing a NatHERS rating are Clyde North, Tarneit and Officer in Victoria.
In fact, nine results in the national top 10 were in Victoria. The exception was Baldivis in Western Australia.
Solar panels rate highly on the list of features buyers demand. Picture: Getty
When looking at areas with the most listings that declare a higher star rating, the results differ, Ms Dellow said.
“According to experts, 7.5 stars and beyond is considered economically optimal. Based on listings on realestate.com.au, very few properties meet this level of energy efficiency.
“Brunswick had the most listings with 7.5-plus ratings in the past 12 months, however they only make up 7% of all listings in that period.”
Other areas in this category are Bakers Creek in Queensland, Southbank in Victoria, Nedlands in WA, Forrest in the ACT, and Rouse Hill in NSW.
Green features buyers demand
The Energy Efficient Housing Report also detailed the sustainable features that homebuyers are most interested in, Ms Dellow said.
“More than 90% of all searches for energy efficient features in the past 12 months have been for solar power,” she said.
“This is not surprising considering the high average sunshine hours per day in Australia.”
Insulation is a bigger consideration in colder climates. Picture: Getty
Queensland has nearly double the volume of searches for energy efficient features compared to the nearest state, Western Australia.
Queenslanders are more interested in solar, water tanks, and the star rating of the property, whereas Victorian searchers are more focused on glazed windows and hydronic heating, due to the colder climate.
The only states and territories where solar power wasn’t the most desired feature were the ACT, where window glazing came out on top, and Tasmania, where people were most interested in insulation.
Searches for electric vehicle chargers come mostly from Victoria and NSW.