The Role of Energy Efficiency in Homebuying Decisions: Results of Initial Focus Group Discussions

Mark Hanson and Mark Bernstein, RAND Corporation
Rob Hammon, ConSol

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Abstract

Various government agencies, advocacy groups, researchers, and homebuilders have struggled to understand what role, if any, energy efficiency plays in home-purchase decisions, and how to make energy-efficient homes more attractive to consumers. There are many reasons why homeowners buy the homes that they do; location, quality, price, amenities, and other factors play into those decisions. In the past, energy efficiency is believed only to have played a small role in particular home-purchase decisions. This report summarizes results of a “natural experiment” that describes views of homeowners who live in a 193-home residential tract outside of Sacramento, California. Homes in this tract are comparable in most respects except that they have substantially different levels of energy efficiency. In a series of four focus group discussions, views of these homeowners regarding their purchase decisions were collected and analyzed. Results suggest areas of further research, including mixed-method approaches to better understand the role of energy efficiency in homebuyer decisionmaking; investigating strategies for marketing energy efficiency; and investigating homeowner energy awareness that may be related to neighborhood design.