With the number of seats taken by independents with a “green-focus”, as well as candidates in the green party itself at the May election, it is clear that environment and sustainability are front-of-mind for households. So how has this manifested in listings descriptions?

In this week’s update, we look at the number of listings with ‘green words’ in the listing description, and the popularity of each individual green feature.

In the below charts, we have tallied the number of listings by the number of times they include a ‘green feature’ such as ‘solar’, ‘water tank’ or ‘battery’ in the past 12 months, and compare the proportions against the previous 12 months.

While the number of green listings appears to have risen, we see too that the number of listings without any green features has risen. Only just over one in 10 listings will advertise any of these features at all, which demonstrates ample potential in growth in these areas.

It is worth noting that these listings include units, which may be less likely to have enough roof space for solar panels, or enough land space for a water tank. While eight green features were fed into the tally, there were no listings which mentioned more than five features. Listings used were taken from listings reflecting the broad market including but not limited to Ray White listings.

The popularity of each green feature is far from equal, as seen in the chart below. ‘solar’ and ‘water tank’ appear the most frequently in listings, while, perhaps more predictably, ‘off-grid’ or ‘off-the-grid’ listings have far less popularity, capturing those rare and secluded properties able to generate their own power. Features like ‘smart lighting’ may feature further down because they are seen as a less important feature. Some features may also be implied, as ‘off-grid’ house may imply it has features like a water tank, solar panels, and a battery, thus eliminating those terms from the listing.

It is difficult to conclude whether green features are rising and simply not being marketed as heavily as in the prior 12 months, or they have failed to grow themselves as an inclusion in houses listed in the last year. Installations of these features do not necessarily mean the immediate sale of the house with these new features, so the remainder of 2022 may promise a surge in these kinds of listings.