Chicago-Area Real Estate Home Buyers Keep An Eye On Energy Costs But Not Other ‘Green’ Features

When it comes to thinking “green,” Chicago real estate home buyers appear more focused on monthly heating bills than on the environment in general.

There may be housing markets around the United States where buyers search eagerly for homes that would make a dedicated environmentalist proud: homes with extensive insulation and the mechanical systems and efficient appliances to minimize energy usage; kitchen and bath fixtures, as well as landscaping, that keep water consumption to a minimum; even homes that generate their own energy supply with wind or solar power.

The vast majority of Chicago area buyers don’t put a major emphasis on finding so-called “sustainable” homes, according to Jim Merrion, regional director and real estate expert for RE/MAX Northern Illinois.

Generally speaking, says Merrion, Chicago-area home buyers, especially those considering existing homes, typically limit their environmental priorities to features that reduce energy costs, with heating bills their main concern.

“Homebuyers have a large number of priorities to consider when looking for a new place to live, starting with price, location and adequate space,” he said. “Energy costs are a priority, while other green concerns get a much lower level of attention”

Buyers of custom-design new construction constitute the one group that is somewhat more demanding when it comes to the environmental footprint of their new residence, according to Stuart Diamond of RE/MAX Villager in Glenview, Ill., who works extensively with that type of property.

“Younger buyers, especially those in their 30s, seem particularly aware of issues related to energy conservation,” he said. “If the standard wall insulation for a new home design is R-36, they want to increase that as much as possible. They understand that additional insulation is a very inexpensive way to save a considerable amount of energy.”

Another trend Diamond sees among the same group of buyers is demand for high-efficiency fluorescent light bulbs. Those bulbs won’t work with dimmer switches, but the buyers don’t care, Diamond reports.

When it comes to existing homes, a desire to minimize energy bills is showing up everywhere, even in the luxury-home precincts served by Susan Coveny of RE/MAX Prestige in Long Grove, Ill.

“Our buyers are quite concerned about things like high-efficiency furnaces, top quality windows and making sure the mechanical systems of the house are well maintained,” said Coveny. In homes that sell for well over a $1 million, indications that a seller hasn’t had the furnace serviced regularly can be a definite turnoff for many buyers, she reports.

The same is true in markets with far lower home prices. In South Holland, Ill., Cimena Cummings of RE/MAX Excellence reports buyers are much more sensitive to energy costs than was the case a decade ago.

“Recently I had clients decide not to buy a home they liked because it had an old boiler, and converting it to an energy efficient furnace would have been too expensive,” Cummings said. “When I market a home today, I make sure to mention energy-saving features, such as a high efficiency furnace, extra insulation and newer windows. Tankless water heaters are also becoming popular as a way to reduce energy use, especially in buildings with rental units.”

Michele Rehberg, a sales associate with RE/MAX Advantage Realty in Antioch, Ill., says buyers in her market have become much more concerned about construction quality, whether looking at new construction or an existing home.

“When it comes to energy use, their real focus is on the utility bills, but they also understand that a well-built house can save money by being more energy efficient,” she said.

Though not as important an issue for most buyers as energy cost, commuting considerations are drawing more attention, too. With gas prices now more than $3.50 a gallon, buyers are eager to find homes that cut the amount of time they spend driving to work, reports Mike Quaglia of RE/MAX Destiny in Elk Grove Village, Ill.

“It is a combination of two factors when it comes to reducing commuting time,” Quaglia said. “One is the cost of gas, which is getting to be a real issue for those who have a long commute. The other is simply the time involved. People have so many demands on their time today that they want to avoid spending hours in their car.”

The desire to minimize auto use is especially visible among those who seek out a home in the city, according to Azarina Cerkic of RE/MAX NorthCoast in Chicago.

“Every city buyer considers public transportation when looking for a home, especially access to the elevated trains,” she said. Even if city home buyers normally drive to work, they like to have the option of taking the El.

Cerkic notes that adding energy saving features has become a standard part of most condominium conversion projects in the city.

“We stress the fact that the developer has installed additional insulation, high-efficiency furnaces, new windows and energy efficient appliances because buyers want to keep their operating costs down,” she said. “Buyers also are eager to get details on the monthly utility bills associated with existing homes so they can get a clearer idea of what their costs will be.”

A final area a fair number local buyers apparently are becoming more environmentally aware involves recycling.

“I’d say that it has gotten to the point where three out of four buyers I work with ask specifically about local recycling programs,” said Mike Quaglia of RE/MAX Destiny, Elk Grove Village. “If the community doesn’t have much of a recycling program, buyers usually have a negative response, but the issue isn’t so important that it’s a deal breaker.”

According to Stuart Diamond of RE/MAX Villager, Glenview, families building new homes are quite aware of the recycling issue, too.

“It has become pretty standard to include a recycling closet in the garage located near the door to the house with room inside for bins that allow the resident to easily separate various recyclables,” Diamond reported.

On the other hand, these agents all noted that in the Chicago area, buyers aren’t concerned about other aspects of environmentally friendly home design, such as features that would reduce water usage or the installation of solar panels to provide electric power to the house.

“Most buyers aren’t quite ready to make those types of investments,” said Diamond. “I’ve worked with two buyers recently who considered a heat-pump system that involves sinking tubes about 150 feet down into the earth. The added upfront cost for that type of system, versus a traditional furnace, was about $25,000, and neither buyer went ahead with it.”

Even when buyers pay little or no attention to environmental aspects of a home, they often end up confronting some of those issues during their home inspection, according to Kathy Volpe of RE/MAX Achievers in Lombard, Ill.

“Inspectors play a big role in communicating to buyers how energy efficient their new home will be,” she said. “They point out potential problem areas as far as energy use is concerned and advise buyers on how the home can be made more efficient, such as by adding insulation, caulking windows or adding a programmable thermostat. With older houses, the list of potential energy-efficient improvements can be lengthy, so it’s important that such homes be priced appropriately.”