As the obsession with environment friendly "everything" grows, I suppose that "change in heart" might also impact the real estate industry? Do you any of you think the time has come to invest more in eco-friendly houses or is it still too early to take unnecessary risks? Even now I think that people wouldn't mind buying an eco-friendly house just for "prestige?"
I think as a buyer and an investor, now is the time to get into eco-friendly homes. Not because they are eco-friendly but because it will be a huge benefit once energy costs rise once again. You can buy the buildings for less now that there's less demand and demand will grow in the future as people realize that the costs of heating/cooling a home becomes larger than their mortgage payment.
I'm not particularly fond of these eco houses. Both as a buyer and investor, you need to take a look at how much it costs compared to a normal house and estimate how much you will save each month in heating/cooling costs. Then it's a simple thing to see if it's worth the extra $$$ in the long run or not.
Yes, but you don't know what the future holds as far as prices. What if propane hits $10 a gallon in 5 years? That's a huge savings if you already own the house and the demand for the type of house will grow quickly.
What if propane hits $1 a gallon in 5 years? As you said, we simply can't know. You can take a look at the different futures and see what the market thinks the price will be in X amount of time, but it's better for short term. You can also take a look at big corporations buying/selling propane and see what kind of deals they have done for the next couple of years. But you can still do the math and see what it looks like. And of course use some margin of error in your calculations (both ways). Often these "new and cool" things are priced too high and you will pay a lot for the "cool and unique" factor. IF these eco houses become more popular in the future, then surely there will be more competition from the manufacturers side and you will probably be able to grab one for much less than what you would pay now.
At this point it's probably a lot cheaper to build a custom house since the big manufactures/builders will charge extra for the niche market. But the way I look at it, if you plan to keep your house for 30 years, it's a good risk management strategy against spikes in energy prices. It's a great selling point too. Who wouldn't spend a little extra if they can save $400+ a month. That's like an additional $80,000 mortgage in savings. Even if the price remains relatively flat, there's always going to be some sort of spike with in 30 years. It wasn't too long ago that propane was around $1.50 and last year I've seen prices around $4.70
The future will definitely see more and more eco-friendly houses on the real estate market. I myself am thinking to buy a few solar panels and have them installed. Also, I want to have some wind turbines. I live close to the sea so there's a lot of wind energy that I can tap into to power my home, well. I have to consider another thing, and that is, do I plan to move in the future? and will I get back money from my investment on the home I have near the sea? Fortunately, I live in a tropical climatic country so it is always warm and to some extent, dry! I definitely see a future for eco-friendly houses.
Here in the UK, we are already obliged to provide prospective buyers and renters with an energy assessment of the property. This means that people are naturally becoming more aware of the options open to them anda the long term savings which can be made. So now is probably the best time to out any plans into action - and stay one step ahead of things.
With all the effects of increasing climate change and energy demands, eco-friendly homes seem to be the answer for saving energy and saving a whole lot in the near future. Sure they're more expensive than regularly-built homes but their advantage will show in the long run. I think it's a good investment if you think of the future.
I believe this is an EU wide thing. When selling a property you need to have the energy assessment and give it out openly, for example real estate websites all have this assesment listed right next to the basic info in most countries. However not in all of them, so I don't think it's mandatory just yet.
