Philadelphia ranked USA's greenest housing market

Photo: Kevin Burkett

Philadelphia has been ranked as the greenest housing market by a new eco-friendly report.

Research by Redfin compared real estate listings for all of the homes in Redfin markets that sold between March 2014 and March 2015 and identified those that mentioned one or more “green” features.

These ranged from solar panels and low-flow faucets to energy-efficient appliances, environmental ratings and certificates, and double-glazing.

Planning to buy an environmental home, rather than green up your own property? Saving effort can come at a cost, finds Redfin: On average, the median sales price of a green home is $52,500 higher than those without green features. They are also slightly larger than non-green homes (1,765 square feet on average, compared to 1,588).

Philadelphia leads the way, with one in three of homes sold in the past 12 months containing green listing descriptions, followed by Orange Country in California, where one in four homes boasted green features.

In California's Ventura Country, buyers can bag a bargain that is friendly to their wallet as well as Mother Nature, with Redfin finding that green homes in Greenwich Village cost 5 per cent less than non-green homes.

Boston, Masachusetts, and San Diego complete the top five, thanks to green features being common in new buld homes.

"Because other central neighborhoods of Boston are already very much developed, there are not a lot of opportunities to build green homes or put green features into the existing infrastructure. Fenway is one of the few areas in Boston that has the opportunity to build green and buyers are excited about it," says Michael Doten, a Redfin agent in Boston.