Report Finds 9.5% Premium for High Performance Homes in North Carolina
North Carolina Building Performance Association (NCBPA), the state’s trade association for building performance companies and professionals, announced today the release of its third annual energy efficient, green and high-performance home and building report.
The report identifies 34,152 high-performance homes and buildings being built or retrofitted in the state in 2016 and 
finds a 9.5% price premium for high-performance homes sold in three of North Carolina’s metro markets between 2015 and 2016. Since 2007, the report identifies 198,525 high-performance homes and buildings in the state.
Each year, the report analyzes data from certification and rating programs used to measure homes and buildings for energy efficient, green and high-performance features. The 2017 report includes what is believed to be the most comprehensive high-performance home sale price analysis performed to date in the country, which compares the prices of 3,908 high-performance homes sold in the Charlotte, Triad and Triangle markets between 2015 and 2016 to all other home sales.
“We anticipated this analysis would illustrate that, on average, builders and homeowners receive a net positive financial return on the sometimes added up-front costs of energy efficient, green or high-performance features in the homes they build or sell,” said Ryan Miller, NCBPA’s Executive Director and lead author of the report. “The results indicate a $29,365 average sale price premium in addition to the improved health, safety, comfort, durability and lower utility bills that these homes offer,” said Miller.
Working alongside research partner National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the analysis found an average 9.5% premium for high-performance homes sold in the three metro markets combined over the two-year period. In the Triangle market alone, high-performance homes averaged 14.4% more square footage and a 22.0% sale price premium, resulting in a 6.7% net increase in sale price per square foot. Of the five certification and rating programs included in the sale price analysis, the National Green Building StandardTM carried the highest average sale price at $143.44 per square foot.
“This report validates what we’ve been seeing in the market for years: that high-performance homes carry greater financial value than others because buyers understand that they improve the health, safety, cash flow and comfort of their occupants,” said Sam Galphin, Owner of Performance Point, a home energy rating business based in the Charlotte area.
Additional features of the report include analysis on commercial and multifamily high-performance construction trends as well as updates on market activities underway to further improve market valuation across the state. These activities are supported by best practices that builders, home builders associations and Multiple Listing Services can undertake to realize greater financial returns through investments in energy efficient, green and high-performance construction.
Visit www.BuildingNC.org to download the report and click on the Upcoming Events page to register for a free webinar being held March 15th presenting key findings from the report.
