Selling a house with solar panels involves certain considerations, depending on where you live and whether you bought or leased your system. It’s also an opportunity to attract more buyers on the benefits of solar energy. There’s not only the positive environmental impacts to promote, but in hot, dry climates especially, renewable energy may offer huge savings on outrageous AC bills.
By recognizing that not every buyer will sign an offer based on your “go green” attitude alone, you can take care to position your home’s solar power as a selling point and mitigate hassles that create friction on the way to a closed deal.
Just follow these simple best practices we’ve rounded up from real estate experts who’ve sold lots of homes with solar panels, plus research from the country’s top solar associations and organizations.
Selling a Home with Solar Panels? Partner with a Top Agent
If you’re selling a home with solar panels, consult with a top local real estate agent about the best way to proceed. An experienced agent will understand the ins and outs of selling a home with solar panels in your market, know how to find the right buyer, and help you get top dollar.
More and more homes are running on sun
The residential solar market is holding strong. After President Biden temporarily eliminated solar tariffs in 2022, solar panel imports during the first quarter of 2023 increased by 87% from the year prior.
California remains the uncontested leader in solar with enough capacity to supply 8.5 million homes, followed by Texas with 1.1 million and North Carolina with 860,000.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the cost to install solar panels has dropped more than 50% over the last decade, and the market continues to diversify as more national and regional installers enter the picture. The 30% federal solar tax credit has also made solar panels more affordable for many Americans.
Even as the market broadens across the country, homeowners who’ve opted to install solar still have to contend with a few logistics when the time comes to sell their house, including what’s still owed on their system lease, the age of their panels, and making sure buyers understand the advantages of solar.