Even as some climate adaptations, like heat pumps, insulation and EV chargers, become selling points for homes, Massachusetts homebuyers’ decisions still aren’t being dramatically shifted by climate change. iStock illustration

Intense competition to buy homes may be overriding any concerns buyers might have about climate-driven property risks in Massachusetts. But homes’ climate change adaptations are starting to become selling points. 

Brokerages and market observers also report that new solar panels on home roofs, electric-vehicle chargers in garages, increasingly popular home heat-pump systems and new insulation materials are showing up as attractive features for many of those buying homes today. 

“A lot of stuff is going on in the [carbon-reduction] space,” said Craig Foley, a Realtor at LAER Realty Partners in Melrose and the real estate firm’s chief sustainability officer.  

But Foley, who owns a side business called Sustainable Real Estate Consulting Services, acknowledged that the real estate industry, including agents, sellers and buyers, are only in the early stages of adapting to the climate change challenges confronting society. 

In the case of agents, Foley said an increasing number of real estate officials are seeking an National Association of Realtors GREEN designation, designed to improve agents’ knowledge of energy efficiency and sustainability in real estate. 

But of the 1.5 million licensed brokers in the U.S., only half of 1 percent have gotten the NAR designation, Foley said.  

“We have a long way to go,” said Foley. “There’s been movement toward a better understanding of real estate sustainability, but we need to do more.” 

Climate to Boost Costs – Eventually 

Sooner or later, the stakes will rise to the point where sustainability and energy efficiency will become a top priority in real estate in Massachusetts, he warned. 

Foley noted the recent announcements by State Farm and Allstate Insurance, citing an increased risk of natural disasters, that they were no longer going to sell new homeowners insurance in California.  

Meanwhile, Arizona recently announced it will stop developers from building new subdivisions in the Phoenix area, due to a critical shortage of groundwater caused by overuse, drought and climate change. 

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, said it’s clear that the biggest impact of climate change on real estate is related to costs, from the cost of homeowner insurance to the cost of resiliency improvements, such as putting homes on stilts in flood-prone areas or changing the physical landscape of properties. 

“Climate change is going to make housing more expensive,” she said. “It’s tied to the higher cost of maintaining a home.” 

Buyers Just Want Houses 

All of those and other climate change warnings may well come true, probably sooner rather than later. 

And there’s no doubt climate change is altering the real estate landscape in some parts of the state, such as on Cape Cod, where it’s getting harder to find affordable home insurance amid a seeming increase in extreme storms. 

But real estate industry figures interviewed for this story said local buyers, right now, are not that interested in climate change issues. They just want to buy a house or condominium amid an acute shortage of homes for sale in Massachusetts. 

“Homebuyers are too busy outbidding each other for homes,” said Kristen Ruggiero of RE/MAX Platinum in Bridgewater. “Climate change [issues] are not a priority for them. It’s not something people are talking a lot about. Most of them are just looking for affordable homes.” 

She said those looking to buy on Cape Cod do tend to ask more questions about climate change issues, particularly when it comes to potential flooding and home flood insurance.  

“But this isn’t necessarily a new issue,” she said of problems unique to waterfront properties in general. “They’re questions that have been asked for a while.” 

Maggie Tomkiewicz, a broker associate at Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty in Dartmouth, agreed flooding and flood insurance are among the top issues buyers raise when they’re eyeing ocean-front properties, or any homes near flood zones.  

She also said buyers tend to be more concerned about such issues on the Cape, compared to the more protected Buzzards Bay area. 

As for eco-friendly features on homes, Tomkiewicz said people seem interested in houses that have solar panels on roofs.  

That can lead to extensive questions about who owns the solar panels, electric-bill savings, repair responsibilities, and the terms of contracts with utilities, she said. 

Agents’ Limited Ability to Advise 

Meanwhile, lenders are starting to ask more in-depth questions about the legal and financial status of solar panels on homes, she added. 

But Tomkiewicz said she’s not hearing a lot from potential buyers about other eco-friendly features of homes, such as heat pumps and electric-vehicle chargers.  

“If they’re already there, people like them,” she said. “But if they’re not there, it’s not all that important to them.” 

The reason: Buyers just want to buy a home amid fierce competition for whatever is available on the market these days, she said. 

As for what agents can actually tell clients about climate change issues, LAER’s Foley said it’s essential that agents don’t make any promises or predictions about future events tied to homes, such as how well local resiliency improvements will withstand major storms. Otherwise, they’re opening themselves up to potential lawsuits, he said. 

Foley said part of his job is to help agents avoid getting into trouble – while at the same time tell them where clients can get more information about climate change matters, such as what resiliency steps a city or town has taken to reduce the potential impact of extreme weather. 

Tomkiewicz said most real estate agents have gotten the message that they shouldn’t be dishing out advice and detailed information about climate change matters. 

“We’re not the experts, so we try to direct people to where they can find more information,” she said.