Want to increase your Boston North End condo value up to $50K? A National Association of Realtors 2018 study reported that 61% of clients are interested in sustainability and 78% considered utility costs important. The average homeowner spends almost $2,000 annually on utilities. What is sucking up all that energy? According to the US Department of Energy, 41% goes to heating rooms, 17% to heating water, 6% to air conditioning, and the remaining 36% powers lighting, appliances, and electronics.
1. ENERGY EFFICIENT HOME IMPROVEMENTS
Other studies have shown that adding energy efficient features that lower utility costs can increase the sales price by approximately $10,000. By investing in energy efficient features, you can improve your Beacon Hill condo for sale marketability and save on your monthly utilities. Here are our top Energy.gov tips and estimated savings:
Install exterior storm windows: $100 to $274
Replace an old toilet with a low-flow model that uses less water: $100
Replace your five most-used light bulbs with Energy Star–rated ones: $75
2. ENERGY EFFICIENT SMART HOME TECH
Another way you can increase your downtown Boston real estate property by using efficiency smart home automation technology. According to a 2018 Nielsen study, more than 25% of all US households own a smart speaker like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. These devices coupled with other smart devices make it easy to automate your energy consumption. Inexpensive smart plugs allow you to plug your electronics in and automate them to turn off when you leave for work. If you habitually leave the lights on (or live with kids who do!) smart light bulbs can do the same thing. Pairing your smart speaker to a built-in programmable thermostat like Nest can both adjust the temperature according to your needs and help you monitor your power consumption remotely.
3. SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
Many homeowners decide to do home improvements before they sell their home like replacing worn flooring and countertops. This is a great time to go green by choosing more sustainable products. An estimated 35 Million acres of forest worldwide are lost each year to illegal logging resulting in loss of habitats, soil erosion, and other environmental damage. When choosing new wood products for your home flooring or cabinets, consider species that are rapidly renewable like pine, eucalyptus, and bamboo and avoid tropical hardwood species like mahogany, teak, and redwood that are more likely to lack sustainable forest certification. When replacing countertops, consider that natural stone is not renewable and requires a high amount of energy and water consumption to quarry and manufacture. There are a wide variety of recycled eco-friendly alternatives that mimic the luxurious feel of natural stone on the market to choose from at almost every price point.
If you are looking to sell your Beacon Hill condo and want to know how making a few energy efficient features can help the marketability of your home
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