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AAP
AAP
Business
Poppy Johnston

One in three homes in line for sunny value boost

Australia is a world leader in rooftop solar, with about one in three homes equipped with panels. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Home buyers are prepared to pay an extra $23,000 extra for a home adorned with solar in a sign households are valuing bill-saving features.

Nationally, solar systems attract an average uplift of 2.7 per cent on property values, with the technology attracting the biggest premiums in Hobart and Brisbane, among the capital cities.

The average home with solar in the Queensland capital commands a $30,219 premium compared with comparable dwellings without, according to the numbers from Cotality, formerly Corelogic.

Australia is a world leader in rooftop solar uptake, with roughly one in three homes equipped with the electricity generation technology.

Home rooftop solar system in Adelaide
The promise of solar boosting a property's value is expected to encourage more people to take it up. (David Mariuz/AAP PHOTOS)

Solar panels pay themselves off in lower bills over time and are playing an increasingly important role in the transition to a low-emissions, renewables-powered energy system.

In the first half of 2025, rooftop solar contributed 12.8 per cent of the nation's electricity generation.

Cotality's Tom Coad expected the assurance of a value uplift from solar would encourage more home owners to install them.

Owner-occupiers worried they will not be in the home long enough to claw back the upfront costs through cheaper bills can be comforted by the fact the property will attract a premium anyway.

An incentive for property investors is that a solar-equipped dwelling is worth more upon sale, which makes up for landlords missing out on the bill-saving benefits of solar that their tenants enjoy. 

"What this report shows is that actually, it's a win-win," Mr Coad told AAP.

Residential electricity bill in Brisbane
Budget-conscious households will potentially place more value on energy-saving features. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

"If you stay in the property, you get the savings. 

"If you sell the property at some point in the future, you get the uplift at that point too."

He said households were increasingly cottoning on to the benefits of cheaper bills and were potentially valuing such home features more amid higher electricity prices.

The real estate data firm's analysis also quantified the value attached to estimated energy efficiency ratings and determined a more modest 1.3 per cent, or $10,560, average national uplift for every extra star.

Mr Coad expected energy performance to become a bigger price mover as more states and territories followed ACT's lead to make it compulsory to disclose energy ratings at the point of sale or lease.

Battery uptake has been booming as households and businesses take advantage of federal and state incentive schemes, but were not included in the Cotality analysis. 

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