It’s reasonable to assume that any addition to your property will appreciate its overall value. You’re offering more, after all. But, even though solar power systems are primarily an investment in environmentally friendly energy savings, have you ever wondered what your property’s price in the market might be if you ever consider selling the latter?
There are a lot of articles touting that the addition of solar panels will greatly add value to a home’s resale price. Unfortunately, the truth isn’t all that simple and a lot will determine how much you can get for your home if you do decide to go solar.
How Could Solar Power Systems Appreciate Property Value?
First, the good news. Strapping solar panels to your home’s roof isn’t going to depreciate your home’s value. At the very least, it will work as a bonus. Think of it this way — if properties of similar size in your neighborhood are going for $500,000, and you decide to sell your home at market price, then the solar panels (much like a swimming pool or sauna) will make for an exciting plus factor and put your property above its competitors.
There have been surveys and studies that confirm that given the energy situation, solar panels do in fact add to a home’s draw factor and cause a spike in their rates. A survey by the Australian Real Estate Institute found that 85% of residents believed homes with solar panels were more valuable than those without.
This isn’t surprising. Solar power is becoming increasingly popular in Australia. 2020 alone recorded a 40% increase in rooftop solar power system installation over 2019. Home buyers are likely to look for properties that already have solar power systems rather than go through the hassle of installing panels themselves.
Additionally, solar panels can also make a home sell around 20% faster as per another study by the US based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Again, these findings justify our earlier argument that solar panels will cause a favorable shift in your home’s perceived value if the property is pitched at market rate.
Even though all the pointers seem to be hinting in the same direction, i.e. solar panels = better value for your home, is it really a guarantee that you will beat the competition when push comes to shove?
Value is in the Eyes of the Beholder
Australians are wising up and know that homes with solar often are recent and substandard and are having these checked before purchase. Short cutting using boiler plat cheap solar in the hope of better prices is fraught. Don’t install solar if your about to sell and think that a $3,500.00 can fool a buyer.
There really is little on-ground proof that homes with solar panels command a significantly higher price than those without. Property values are subject to conditions such as current market prices, disposable income and buyer sentiment, all of which vary from place to place and time to time, making blanket predictions impossible.
We should also consider the fact that many property buyers probably won’t be aware of how solar panels work or bring down electricity bills. Some may simply not care whether they got their electricity from the panels or the grid, too.
Fewer still will understand how solar may affect their investment’s resale price down the road. The simple fact is that a home with solar panels will appeal to a class of buyers, but probably not all who come looking.
Solar power systems as an investment, only make sense if you’re interested in long term energy savings by becoming an electricity producer yourself. Or, you’d like to contribute to helping the environment by adding more renewable energy to the national grid.
As far as increasing your home’s value is concerned, it’s better to stick with time-tested ways — keep your house in great condition through regular maintenance and give your buyers as much value as possible.
Solar panels can work as the “icing on the cake” here and help you sell faster (provided they are installed properly), and may fetch you a higher price if you target the right market segment at the right time. So, your home’s resale value will boil down to how you position yourself if and when you’re ready to sell it.
We Can Help You Understand How Solar Power Will Affect Your Property’s Resale Value
If you’re curious about how an investment in solar power will affect your property’s price, then feel free to reach out to us. Having helped thousands of homeowners purchase solar power systems all over Australia, we understand the many dimensions of solar power and how they play out in all the states.
We also ensure that every solar installation is done as professionally as possible so that they add as much value as possible to the property. We use proprietary Lidar-assisted Advanced System Designing tools and techniques to design the perfect solar power system for your home and position it to optimize output and service-life.
Feel free to check out how we work or contact us for a quick one-to-one consultation.
