A multi-institutional research team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkley Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, universities, and appraisers found that home buyers consistently have been willing to pay more for homes with host-owned solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems —averaging about $4 per watt (this is an “average” and may not reflect your neighborhood) of PV installed—across various states, housing and PV markets, and home types. This equates to a premium of about $15,000 for a typical PV system. The team analyzed almost 22,000 sales of homes, almost 4,000 of which contained PV systems in eight states from 1999 to 2013—producing the most authoritative estimates to date of price premiums for U.S. homes with PV systems.
What happens if your client/homeowner has been told that they received no credit for solar as there are no comps to support an adjustment? What we recommend our clients to do: First you insist on an appraiser that is qualified to appraise solar and energy efficient homes with your lender. The appraisers at www.scappraisals.com are qualified, BPI, AI certified appraisers and know that closed comps are just 1 way to determine value.
Read report at: http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2015/01/13/berkeley-lab-illuminates-price-premiums-u-s-solar-home-sales/
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