Valuing Energy Efficiency in Appraisal and Underwriting
We thought there would be some association between energy efficiency and mortgage risk… In March, a joint study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for Community Capital and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) found that owners of ENERGY STAR-rated homes are one-third less likely to default on a mortgage than the average borrower. Home Energy Efficiency and Mortgage Risks used a sample of 71,000 home loans from 38 states and the District of Columbia, all derived from CoreLogic’s mortgage database. The sample was restricted to single-family, owner-occupied houses whose loans originated during 2002–2012 and were used...