New surveys by the prestigious Berkeley Labs in the US[1] and realestate.com and Origin Energy in Australia[2] have highlighted that prior to selling or renting your house is one of the best times to go solar.

Installing solar is typically something we often think about when building or buying a home. Banks are happy to support the idea by including the cost of a solar system with your home loan. This is a great option for becoming more self-sufficient and reducing energy cost over the longer term.

While people recognise that investing in solar is a great option when buying or building, we find that home owners and investors often hold off on installing solar when they are thinking of selling or renting their homes. This new research highlights that rather than holding off when renting or selling, this is in fact the financially most lucrative time to install solar. Paybacks are much faster and more lucrative through improved sale and rental prices.

Solar for selling

The recent Berkeley report analysed more than 22,000 house sales across a number of US states. It showed that putting solar on your roof before selling increased the value of the property by $4 per watt of installed solar capacity. The study by realestate.com and Origin energy show that this is likely to be true for the Australian property market as well, with 85% of people surveyed saying they would be happy to pay more for a house with solar installed.

A resale value of $4 per watt point to solar for selling as one of the best investments you can make. Current installation costs for solar systems are less than $2 per watt, meaning that a 100% return on investment is possible in the time it takes to sell your house. Think of this as putting some money into a fixed term investment with an interest rate of over 300%.... it’s well worth borrowing even with a short term loan to make it happen.

To get this kind of return the solar system needs to be professionally installed to give a feeling of confidence in the buyer, and needs to be properly sized for the dwelling.  You can expect an oversized system to still increase the value of the property, but the return on investment in terms of resale value is likely to be capped at the return from a properly sized system. Similarly, discerning buyers are likely to discount properties that have added undersized systems as a sales gimmick.

To register for a free assessment of the correct sizing for your solar system and a free quote for installation click the button. 

Solar for renting

The survey commissioned by realestate.com and Origin energy asked important questions about renters. They found that 40% of renters were prepared to pay at least $10 week in rent for a house with solar installed.

This preference for solar for a substantial part of the rental market means there are two ways that solar on rental properties can pay you back.

The preference for solar means faster rental and re-rental, saving you lost income during the wait to find renters. This is especially important in depressed rental markets where an unlet property can cost you hundreds of dollars per week.

Higher rents of $10 per week can earn in the region of $500 per year for a rental property. For an existing rental property it also gives a tangible property improvement to justify a rental increase.

Together these two benefits may lead to more than $1,000 in additional income from rental properties each year and give a payback for grid connect systems at less than the payback time for putting solar onto your own home.  

Conclusion

Solar for selling and renting is likely to be one of the best investments you will ever make. Solar increases the attractiveness of your property to both renters and buyers and gives you the edge over competitors. You will sell and rent quicker and for a higher price.

Use a reputable solar installer such as www.mvsolar.com.au to design the right size system for maximum returns.    

[1] http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2015/01/13/berkeley-lab-illuminates-price-premiums-u-s-solar-home-sales/

[2] http://www.realestate.com.au/blog/85-of-aussies-say-solar-panels-boost-property-prices/