Do Solar Panels Increase Home Value? A Basic Guide

If there’s one conversation about the real estate market these days, it’s about property values. In spite of the pandemic, home values surged 10% in 2020. Some areas experienced larger gains than others.

The market will eventually correct itself, which makes choosing the right home projects more important. You need to make sure they deliver a return on investment by increasing your home values.

You can add solar panels, update your kitchen, or add an outdoor patio. That leaves you wondering, “Do solar panels increase home value or not?”’

Property Value Factors

Property values defied expectations over the last year because of the basic principle of supply and demand. More people realized that they can live and work from anywhere, so they fled to the suburbs.

Sellers remained reluctant to sell and chose to wait out the pandemic. Add very low interest rates on top of that, and you have a lot of people who want to buy and very low inventory.

Home values also depend on local factors. A new school being built will be attractive for young families. That causes property values to increase. 

A home down the street from you that’s run down can drive down property values in your neighborhood.

Market demand also impacts property values. There are some amenities that buyers want, such as a fireplace or open concept kitchen. If your home has these items, then you can get more for your home.

Do Solar Panels Increase Home Value?        

Once you understand what goes into property values, you can look at the solar panel ROI. According to a study by Zillow, solar panels increase home values by 4.1%.

There are two reasons why solar panels deliver a high ROI. The first is that more people are aware of skyrocketing energy costs to power their homes. They view solar panels as a way to offset those costs now and in the future.

The second reason is that there is a high level of interest in solar panels. Homebuyers get the benefits without taking on an installation project.

Are you guaranteed to see an increase in property values after your solar panel installation? It depends because some homeowners opt to lease solar panels instead of owning them outright.

That may prevent you from selling your home because the lease isn’t transferrable. If it is transferrable, a homebuyer may be reluctant to take on the lease.

The most important thing to do is to hire an installer like Blue Raven Solar company that ensures you own the solar panels instead of leasing them.

Get Solar Panels Installed

Solar panels are a great way to lower the energy costs in your home now and add value to your property.

Do solar panels increase home value? They can as long as you live in an area with high demand and you own the solar panels upon installation. There’s no reason why you should wait to get solar panels. For more real estate news, be sure to visit the News section of this site.