It has been a controversial question in the home real estate
market for years: Is there extra green when you buy green? Do
houses with lots of energy-saving and sustainability features
sell for more than houses without them? If so, by how much? Some
studies have shown that consumers’ willingness to pay more for
Energy Star and other green-rated homes tends to diminish during
tough economic times. Others have found that green-certified
houses sell for at least a modest premium over similar but less-
efficient homes. But now a new econometric study involving an
unusually large sample of 1.6 million homes sold in California
between 2007 and early 2012 has documented that, holding all
other variables constant, a green certification label on a house
adds an average 9 percent to its selling value. Researchers also
found something they dubbed the “Prius effect”: Buyers in areas
where consumer sentiment in support of environmental
conservation is relatively high — as measured by the percentage
of hybrid auto registrat