60% of renters will pay more for "green" apartments

The “2013 Green Renters Survey” was commissioned by HD Supply Facilities Maintenance as a follow-up to our “2010 Green Renters Survey” to understand how apartment renters preferences for amenities, including energy efficient, water conserving, and other environmentally preferable amenities, has changed over the past couple of years. Gretchen will go into detail on the results during the presentation, but I will share a few highlights here with you now.

• 77 percent of renters report that it is important that their apartment is “green,” compared to 62% in 2010.
• 17 percent consider this very important, compared to 13% in 2010.
• 65 percent state that energy efficiency is important, compared to 56% in 2010.
• 57 percent value an apartment with environmentally friendly features, compared to 42 percent in 2010.
• Only 13 percent of renters are aware of a “green” apartment complex in their area.

In my mind, the most exciting results of this study is that 6 out of 10 renters would be willing to pay 2.5 percent higher rent to live in a “green” apartment unit even if that apartment unit doesn’t save them any money on utilities. That basically means that people place a 2.5 percent premium on the environmental impact reduction of “green” apartment units.