Two Thirds Ontario Homeowners Oppose Proposed Mandatory Home Energy Audit Program

It's Time for Homeowners to be Accountable

The original news release is posted on my site www.livingincollingwood.com/renews

I am using quotes from the release and supplementing with my comments from the view of a Green Realtor.

" News Release: Two Thirds (65%) of Ontario Homeowners Oppose McGuinty Government Proposed Mandatory Home Energy Audit Program "

April 20, 2009 - Today a poll was released conducted by IPSOS Reid for Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) to judge consumer reaction to the provincial government's proposal for mandatory home energy audits prior to sale, found that " two-thirds (65%) of Ontario's principal residence homeowners oppose the recently proposed McGuinty government mandatory home energy audit program and instead overwhelmingly favor voluntary audits (92%)."

"Further, 70% of principal residence owners believe that mandatory home energy audit information will deter homeowners from selling homes, thus be detrimental to the real estate sector and Ontario's economy (70% -- 30% strongly/40% somewhat) compared with 30% who disagree (6% strongly/25% somewhat). Two thirds (62%) of Ontario homeowners believe proposed program is a "poor idea" and seven in 10 (68%) say it's unnecessary
· A massive majority (94%) of Ontario homeowners believe mandatory home energy audits will impose significant cost on home sellers and first time buyers (82%) "

"Furthermore, home energy audits will impose a significant cost on home sellers, especially those with older houses who will have difficulty selling their home without having to spend money on expensive energy retrofits thus reducing their home equity. A mere 6% (5% somewhat/1% strongly) disagree with this position."

As a Realtor, I agree that homeowners will be penalized for a poor audit when it comes time to sell, although the issues that have a direct affect on home energy conservation , i.e leaky windows, poor insulation, old furnace etc. would be the same issues that would likely show up in a home inspection, thus placing a lower value on the home anyway. A homeowner wishing to sell an older home that has not been updated does not have to invest in retrofit as they can still sell it "as is" and let the new owner do the retrofit as part of a home update and renovation. This is a case where we have an environmental issue impacting homeowners finances. On the other hand, with environmental protection becoming an emergency situation I believe it's time homeowners put their money where their mouth is. We need to be environmentally responsible and accountable. We need to put much more value on homes that are environmentally efficent.

I beleive this audit is more about waking up homeowners to realize they need to investment in home energy efficiency and for buyers of those homes to recognize and appreciate the value. I recently heard of a seller who put in a geothermal heating system and got nothing extra when time came to sell. Buyers were not impressed by it and the feeling was that it was an extravagant investment that must be absorbed by the seller!

"Further, a full majority (82%) of homeowners believe that mandatory home energy audits will impose a significant cost on first time homebuyers who typically buy resale homes that will now be too expensive due to energy retrofits (82%) compared with just one in five (18%) who disagree."

Is anybody thinking about utility bills and savings over time of an energy efficient house? In addition, for first-time buyers there are many new builders offering Energy-Star rated homes that are absolutely competetive. And mortgage companies are coming to the table with "green mortgages" offering special incentives for people purchasing energy efficient homes. Governments are offering incentives and rebates for home energy audits and retrofit. And, none of this has not happened by mandatory rulings, so there will be more creative options and oppotunities once everyone gets with the program, mandatory or not!

"OREA supports a system of voluntary home energy audits combined with improved incentives to offset more of the costs of energy efficiency retrofits. "

I certainly agree with OREA but in the end, if enough people continue to place no value on the environment and ignore home energy conservation then mandatory audits may be the only option.

My final thought: Home energy conservation is no longer a concept - it is an emergency!

Reference

News Release: Two Thirds (65%) of Ontario Homeowners Oppose McGuinty Government Proposed Mandatory Home Energy Audit Program Principal Residence Homeowners Overwhelmingly Support Voluntary (92%), Not Mandatory (8%), Audits

The findings of the poll conducted March 30 to April 1, 2009 of 692 principal residence homeowners in Ontario from Ipsos Reid at http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/

This news release is on my site www.livingincollingwood.com/renews