High-Tech Impact on Home Values – Part 2: Solar Panels

A recent article on azcentral.com, Solar can raise home values – if you own the system, caught the eye of Melisa Camp, REALTOR®, GREEN with HomeSmart Elite Group in Phoenix.

According to the story, Solar panels owned by a home seller add 4 to 6 percent to the value of a home sale, often less than the cost of the panels…houses with leased solar panels actually sold for less than those with no solar.

“I took a class on residential and commercial valuation of solar installations where appraisers are being told not to assign any value for a leased system,” said Camp. “They can note that a leased system may help the marketability of the home and decrease days on market, but leased systems are considered personal property and are not to be given any value.”

The news story also credited Mike Orr with ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business for concluding that solar systems purchased by the owner do add value, while leased solar systems can detract from a value or sales price.

“Selling homes with owned-solar is easier for all parties involved,” agreed Camp, “but I think an upcoming trend we will see is selling homes with owned-solar and storage.”

Melisa Camp will be teaching a 3-hour CE disclosure course called “Listing and Selling Homes with Solar” on September 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Click here to register.

The Arizona Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council is holding a two-day “Solar Appraiser Course” on August 27 and 28 in Phoenix. More information on course content and how-to register is available here.

Related resources:
Top 5 Most Common Green Questions.
Why the Word ‘Green’ Doesn’t Really Matter

Click here to read part one in our High-Tech Impact on Home Values series.

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