Climate zones, energy efficient technologies and advertising: what are residential real estate agents saying?

ABSTRACT Energy used in housing is a major contributor to Australia’s energy consumption. The country’s vastness leads itself into a broad range of climate conditions and each climate zone demands different energy efficient characteristics in housing. Real estate agents play an active role in motivating buyers in purchasing energy efficient housing through advertising. The objective of this research is to examine whether the promotion of house energy efficient features in advertisements is influenced by the climate zones. The research examined detached dwelling advertisements in three climate zones in Victoria, Australia – hot, mild and cool – during the period of 2008 – 2013 with over 40,000 advertisements reviewed. This was complemented by in-depth interviews with nine senior real estate agents practising within these climate zones. Results highlight that energy efficiency features were not considered to be a major factor when advertising residential properties. However, there were differences in advertising characteristics related to energy efficient features across climate zones. Advertisements in colder zones tended to have more energy saving related words. Yet, distinctive design characteristics for different climate zones are not significantly differentiated and agents tend to follow standard wording when describing them.