Is there interest in energy efficient homes in SoWal?

[elenamaria]

Just curious about how the energy crunch is affecting home purchases...or your take on how future energy cost increases will impact the SoWal real estate market.

For example, realtors: Are potential homebuyers asking about utility bills in homes they're considering? Do any of them seem to be concerned about energy efficiency of homes in general?

We summer in upstate NY, and are very glad that we head to FL for the winter...talk here is that heating costs this winter will be $2k-4k a MONTH. We use oil in the house in the summer, too (primarily for hot water) and paid double the price per gallon to fill the tank this summer over last. Curious to know if SoWal folks have seen big increases in their electric bills for running ACs this summer?

Smart homebuyers should definitely be asking questions about homes' energy efficiency...a poorly insulated/constructed home (even if it's a newer home) could end up costing much more in the long run...it stands to reason that energy efficiency (or lack thereof) should factor into the initial purchase price.

 

[Smiling JOe]

My experience with this in SoWal is that the power bills are not a factor for one purchasing a home priced above $350,000.

 

[Franny]

It certainly happens that buyers question the age and efficiency of a/c's, water heaters, etc but I don't believe it makes or breaks a deal in sowal.

 

[bentley williams]

We summer in upstate NY, and are very glad that we head to FL for the winter...talk here is that heating costs this winter will be $2k-4k a MONTH.

Is right!

You could rent a palace down here for that kind of money.

 

[elenamaria]

Bent-You're so right. We both work from home, so we're fortunate to be able to escape the winters of NY...when we did the calcs of what we save in heating, TV, phone, and gas for the plow truck (!) versus renting a nice little house in SoWal, we practically save money by coming to SoWal and renting...not to mention saving our sanity. We nearly lost the latter the few winters we lived on this mountaintop (with a mile-long nearly vertical driveway)...think "The Shining"...:shock: