Queensland suburbs with the highest amount of energy-efficient homes for sale
New data shows which suburbs have the highest number of properties with energy-efficient features for sale as the state looks to cut down on its power costs.
A new report from PropTrack has identified a lack of energy-efficient housing in Queensland as residents look to save money on power bills during the cost of living crisis.
PropTrack’s Energy-Efficient Housing Report found almost two thirds (64 per cent) of Queensland respondents in the realestate.com.au September 2023 Residential Audience Pulse Survey held energy efficiency ratings as a top priority when buying, renting, or building a home.
Despite the demand, only 19 per cent of Queensland homes listed for sale on realestate.com.au advertised an energy-efficient feature over the past 12 months.
Suburbs with the most energy-efficient homes for sale included Morayfield, Caboolture and Narangba, followed by Redland Bay, Banksia Beach and Ripley.
PropTrack Senior Analyst and report author Karen Dellow said these suburbs were typified by high levels of new development, which helped to explain why there were more homes listed with energy-saving features.
“Over the past 20 years, the Building Code of Australia has required a minimum energy-efficiency rating for all new developments,” she said. “This has recently been raised to a rating of seven, up from six, so we will continue to see greenfield sites and suburbs with high levels of high-density developments top the list for energy efficiency.”
The report showed three in four Queenslanders (75 per cent) were looking for energy efficient features as a way to reduce energy bills, given rising energy costs and inflation, while environmental concerns drove demand for half of the respondents (52 per cent).
Solar power (81 per cent) was the most commonly searched for energy-efficient feature, followed by water tanks (10 per cent).
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Ms Dellow said the demand for solar panels and other energy efficient features was higher in Queensland than in all other states.
“Queenslanders make up nearly half of energy-efficient searches and 48 per cent of all searches for solar panels on realestate.com.au,” Ms Dellow said.
But despite the lack of energy-efficient housing, it was worth noting that Queensland fared comparatively better than most other states when it came to supply, she said.
Queensland had the second-highest number of listings with energy-efficient features, behind Victoria and could be considered “a frontrunner in terms of supply and demand comparatively,” she said.
In terms of the rental market, 22 per cent of properties listed with an energy-efficient feature on realestate.com.au were from Queensland, making it “a favourable state to be a renter if you want to save money on energy bills,” she said.
“There is plenty of room for improvement in the number of rentals with energy-efficient featured included in listings on realestate.com.au in Queensland,” she said. “However, Queensland is ahead of most other states in this regard.”
She said Australia was still at the beginning of its energy-efficient housing journey.
“It is estimated that four million homes will have solar panels by year-end, which is a huge number, but there are more recent technologies that are yet to be adopted at a similar pace,” she said.
“More Australians are turning to electric vehicles (EV), and we have seen a marked increase in the number of listings with EV chargers, as well as an increase in searches for them.
“The same can be said for batteries to store excess energy generated from solar panels.
“As new technologies are developed it will take time for them to be fully adopted, but Australia is in a strong position to benefit from energy-efficiency technology and has already begun to embrace new developments.”
QLD SUBURBS WITH MOST ENERGY EFFICIENT HOMES FOR SALE
1. Morayfield
2. Caboolture
3. Narangba
4. Redland Bay
5. Banksia Beach
6. Ripley
7. Greenbank
8. Burpengary
9. Burpengary East
10. Newport
Originally published as Queensland suburbs with the highest amount of energy-efficient homes for sale
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