A Realtor's View of Solar Power Systems

I have been following the All Around KTown blog by Suzy Trotta, a Knoxville area realtor. I asked for her opinion, from a Realtor perspective, on solar power systems and the effects on the home. A very good response was forthcoming (see entire email at the end).

I have pulled a few of the comments out as particularly noteworthy. The first comment is that residential solar power is not prevalent at all. Suzy indicated

"I have personally never helped a client buy or sell a home with solar panels. I would say they are still fairly unique in our area, although I have seen them from time to time. I searched the MLS to see if there are any homes with solar power currently being marketed, and I couldn't find any."

I also think that it is clear that it will take time to have people recognize the value and need for solar power, per Suzy,

I know many people in this area aren't accustomed to solar power and might need some education and/or persuading to see the light - no pun intended :)..........

and

[some other houses] had a few progressive energy saving features. These features, which included a state of the art foam insulation, did nothing to sell the houses, even though buyers were told that they could save up to 40% on their heating and cooling bills. Maybe they didn't believe it, maybe they didn't get it, maybe it was the market, or maybe it was just the houses.....................there was no way to prove those "savings." If you could show people before and after utility bills, that might do the trick.

The last comment from Suzy, which I thought bears a comment, was

At the end of the day a homebuyer in this market is going to look at two things - is it going to cost me anything and what good does it do me? If the answers are "nothing" and "saves you a lot of money," then solar panels are probably a good investment.

The savings potential is clear on solar power (or close at least). The cost, though, needs to be recognized. If a homeowner spends $20K on a solar system, a residual value must be recognized during the sale of the home. I would have a hard time not recovering some of the money directly, not only in the "making a home easier to sell" category.

Thanks to Suzy Trotta for the thoughts and comments! I appreciate it!

--------------------Suzy Trotta's full email (with her permission)---------------------

First of all, let me preface my comments by saying that I don't know that you're asking a "average" Realtor. My thoughts on this topic might be a little left of center. With that in mind...

I have personally never helped a client buy or sell a home with solar panels. I would say they are still fairly unique in our area, although I have seen them from time to time. I searched the MLS to see if there are any homes with solar power currently being marketed, and I couldn't find any. However, in light of the current housing market, as well as the current national economy, I would think that anything a homeowner could do that would both a) make their home stand out from the crowd and b) save the buyer money in the process, would be a good thing.

Having said all that, I know many people in this area aren't accustomed to solar power and might need some education and/or persuading to see the light - no pun intended :) I had some new construction homes listed out in Lenoir City that, although they did not have solar panels, had a few progressive energy saving features. These features, which included a state of the art foam insulation, did nothing to sell the houses, even though buyers were told that they could save up to 40% on their heating and cooling bills. Maybe they didn't believe it, maybe they didn't get it, maybe it was the market, or maybe it was just the houses. Hard to say.

With those new homes, there was no way to prove those "savings." If you could show people before and after utility bills, that might do the trick. At the end of the day a homebuyer in this market is going to look at two things - is it going to cost me anything and what good does it do me? If the answers are "nothing" and "saves you a lot of money," then solar panels are probably a good investment.

I personally think solar panels are a great idea and my husband and I have talked about possibly installing them on top of our humble 60s tri-level some day. That's after we finally get around to getting a new roof :)

I hope this helps answer your question and sorry it took me so long to get around to it!

Suzy