Under local net metering policies, landlords can also sell excess energy production to the power grid in exchange for energy rentals. But despite the financial benefits, the initial cost of installing solar panels can reach tens of thousands of dollars.
So the benefits of buying a solar home are easy to see the next time you're looking for a property, but how is the solar home market performing across the country? And where should buyers spend more money on a solar home?
To find out, the MarketWatch Guides team searched Zillow real estate listings and counted homes for sale that included the keyword "solar." This allows us to determine the number of solar home listings in certain states and cities compared to the local population. Using page views and price details for each listing, we calculated the average number of views per day and determined how much buyers would pay for a solar home compared to the average home in each city and state.
Where in the United States has more solar homes for sale than anywhere else? We started our research by looking at Zillow listings for each city and found that Las Vegas had the most solar homes on the market ( 287 ). Some of these will likely be part of future solar-powered city developments, including the construction of 51 luxury homes with rooftop panel systems.
New York City came in second with 218 solar homes for sale. There is also an increase in solar power plants in the New York City suburbs to reduce electricity bills and allow for greener living. New homes for sale will also likely use solar energy, as local laws require “solar or green roofs” for all new construction.
But of course everything is relative. in Goodhart, Ariz. We found 57.87 solar home offers per 100,000 residents, more than any other city in the country. At the top of our ranking, which also includes two relatively densely populated Arizona cities, Goodyear has more than 300 days of sunshine per year, a perfect factor for a solar power system.
Most of the rankings are for cities in California and Florida , Menifee ( 55.76 listings per 100,000 residents) and Cape Coral ( 47.93 listings). But two cities in Colorado , a state not generally considered part of the Sun Belt, are bucking the trend. Pueblo (rank 43.07 ) and Boulder (rank 39.82 ) both aim to increase renewable energy production through the 2030s.
California sells the most solar-powered homes
We then mapped the states selling the most solar homes and found that California topped the list with a total of 6,014 listings . This is not surprising considering that California has the most solar-powered homes of any US state. Next is Florida ( 2,852 listings ), the state with the most solar-powered homes in the country.
However, when compared to population, Hawaii has the highest number of solar homes on the market ( 23.33 per 100,000 residents ). In comparison, conventional energy is expensive in the country. The average resident pays 43.18 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity, the highest price of any US state.
