Do Photovoltaic Energy Systems Effect Residential Selling Prices? Results from a California Statewide Investigation.

An increasing number of homes in the U.S. have sold with photovoltaic (PV) energy systems installed at the time of sale, yet relatively little research exists that provides estimates of the marginal impacts of those PV systems on home sale prices. This research analyzes a large dataset of California homes that sold from 2000 through mid-2009 with PV installed. We find strong evidence that homes with PV systems sold for a premium over comparable homes without PV systems during this time frame. Estimates for this premium expressed in dollars per watt of installed PV range, from roughly $4 to $6.4/watt across the full dataset, to approximately $2.3/watt for new homes, to more than $6/watt for existing homes. A number of ideas for further research are suggested