Do solar panels increase resale home value?

Question

Will installing solar panels increase the resale value of my home? I'm on the fence moving forward with that option.

Bill B. · Answer

Not a reason to do it. Sometimes they decrease the value or cause a sale to fall through. (If you have a loan on them.) BEST case you might get 50-60% back if you’re lucky enough to find a buyer who cares. You only do it because you want to signal to other people you’re a good person.

John Warren · Answer

@Eric Lam it will increase the value just as much as that new driveway, new fence, etc. So many upgrades have no/negligible increases in the valuation of the home. You do them because you want them and expect to enjoy them. For solar, you need quite a few years to see the pay off.

Brad S. · Answer

As an Appraiser, I used to give some separate value to a photovoltaic (PV-solar panel) system on a house. I used to rely on a now older study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which suggested a PV system may add up to a $5,911 per Kilowatt premium to value, but would decrease about 9% every year, due to degradation of the systems' effectiveness.

But, after a while I realized I couldn't really isolate a value difference for that amenity. It's not really possible to distinguish how much, if any, more money is being paid for houses with a PV system. There are too many variables. In my opinion, from appraising hundreds of homes with PV systems, they may add a "bonus" factor (additional appeal, etc), but that may not translate to a significant increase in price, and not worth the price to install them. So, now I just take that amenity into consideration when I assess a general quality classification to a property, but I typically don't adjust separately for a PV system.

As a Broker, I have never had any Buyers say "find me a house with solar panels, I'm willing to pay more!." But, I have had clients cancel their purchase when they found out the houses' PV system was leased and they would be responsible for the rest of the lease.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Kinda like a pool, but even worse return of value. If you want to do it to be green or something, but not because you hope other people might see it as value.

If 1) you buy the panels, and 2) you find a buyer in the future that places some value in them, then you might get a slight return...maybe....

Jeremy Holden · Answer

I'm an investor and agent in the Phoenix area. I am yet to work on a deal where solar added value. In most cases, its added extra utility and maintenance costs along with other unforeseen headaches.

Jake Hilden · Answer

@Eric Lam as others have already mentioned, this is not something to bank on at all. There are appraisers in certain parts of the country that I know who put a value on them but we're talking AZ, CA, etc. where solar is more widely adopted. I never tell any homeowner I speak with to count on solar increasing home value. It is very location-dependent and also buyer-dependent. It also depends on how much money you are saving each month and if that brings value to the buyer's eyes. The cost savings are very location and homeowner-dependent. There are too many variables to see solar increasing value. If you are going to solely do it for that, then don't do it. But, if you are planning on staying in the home and want to save money long-term with a fixed rate, then it is worth looking into.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Absolutely not, sellers get brainwashed into thinking it increases value. Buyers end up assuming the loan and it puts them over budget. It may save your electricity bill but you end up making up for it in monthly payments

Do solar panels increase resale home value?

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