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Results of a Green Housing Study Conducted by Rent.com

Jim Simcoe
1 min read
Results of a Green Housing Study Conducted by Rent.com

A study conducted by Rent.com in February 2010, concluded that the desire for eco-friendly homes has skyrocketed. Check out some of the findings:

  • 86 % of renters would prefer to live in an eco-friendly home.
  • 55 % are willing to spend more in rent to live in one.
  • Renters were almost three times as likely to say that living in an eco-friendly home is  absolutely necessary for them.
  • 42% said they were willing to pay up to $100 extra to live in an eco-friendly home and 13% were willing to pay even more than that.
  • 28% of respondents were most impressed with apartments that offered energy-saving appliances.

Real life example:

In the city I live (Encinitas, California) there are currently 148 homes available for rent.  Of those homes, I could not find any that offered any ‘green’ features at all. That is amazing considering the demand and the premium a green rental offers an investor. 0 for 148. In a town where the average rental is $1800/month, that’s an estimated minimum of $1200 these owners are potentially throwing away each year.

The main reasons I see investors not greening their rentals are:

  • They think it costs too much.
  • They don’t have a clue what to do.
  • They don’t think they can get a premium in rent for greening it.

Of these reasons, only #2 is a truly valid one.  In regards to #1 and #3, the stats and data show that you can go green, have it cost you less money AND gain you a premium on your rental. However if you don’t know what to do (#2) that can be a problem.

With the investors I’ve worked with across the US, I find that it’s #2 that is usually the stumbling block.  It’s becoming easier to prove #1 and #3 to investors.  I’ve written before about some of the best ways to green your rental property; you can see just one of the articles here

The results of this study are going to change the rental market game.  There is simply too much demand (and thus too much money) for investors to ignore it anymore. This is a game changer for all of us.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.