The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released its 2025 Residential Sustainability Report, showing increasing interest in home energy efficiency. Consumer interest in residential energy efficiency isn’t new, as efficiency tops the list of most desired features in a home. What’s striking this year is that more consumers than ever are specifically asking about energy efficiency.
Details »The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released an analysis this week that shows that in states that have adopted the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), there has not been a decline in new construction homes. This finding directly contradict claims made by some home builders that more stringent energy code requirements deter new construction.
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, ACEEE examined single-family home permit rates in the five largest states that adopted the 2021 IECC. It found that before the code update, the month-to-month number of permits fluctuated up and down but roughly followed national building trends.
Examining Construction After Code Changes
After the code update, ACEEE observed permits continued to bounce up and down, generally following national trends. Thus, code updates had no apparent impact on new home production.
The bill savings each month dwarf the smaller increase in mortgage payments, says ACEEE. NAIMA’s newly released guide, “Insulation, Energy Codes & Housing Affordability,” also substantiates the positive impact more modern building energy efficiency codes have on housing affordability.
Other Studies Support This Finding
ACEEE notes that two separate studies support the idea that advanced energy codes do not impact housing construction. A study by Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and Slipstream showed that strengthened energy codes in Illinois did not affect housing construction in the state compared to adjacent counties in a neighboring state. Separately, a study this year from Canary Media found that a Massachusetts town that adopted a far more stringent code (requiring all electric homes) experienced a new construction boom.
Why It Matters
ACEEE’s findings show that new residential construction is cyclical, but energy code updates do not adversely impact new home construction. Solving America’s housing crisis will require a continued focus on reducing ownership costs to help affordability while also building more homes.
“We can and must advance both at the same time,” ACEEE says.
NAIMA has just released a new guide, titled “Insulation, Energy Codes & Housing Affordability.” The publication details the positive impact that modern building energy codes have on housing affordability.
For most homeowners, utility costs, including heating and cooling costs, rank among the top three expenses after their mortgage. Building homes to a more modern energy efficiency code saves homeowners money over the long term and has a host of other benefits.
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Michigan State University (MSU) researchers have published analysis that concludes that large AI models can produce effective retrofit decisions but are less likely to identify which can deliver the best result most quickly and at the lowest cost. The study is one of the first to look at how large language models (LLMs) perform in determining how to assess efficient and effective building energy retrofits.
Details »NAIMA recently announced the results of its annual recycled content survey, which reports its members’ use of recycled materials. In 2024, NAIMA members in the United States and Canada used more than 3 billion pounds of recycled glass and slag in the production of residential, commercial, industrial, and air-handling thermal and acoustical insulation.
NAIMA released a new report addressing concerns raised by building occupants and trades about glass fibers in HVAC ducts. The report details the results of studies conducted over 35 years that show that fiberglass duct liners and fiberglass board exhibit little to no fiber erosion on surfaces in typical HVAC ducts.
A new study from Evernest, a real estate and property management firm based in Birmingham, AL, quantifies the impact that tariffs on construction materials such as steel, copper, drywall, and lumber will have on the cost of building a new home in each state.
The study results show that tariffs are already impacting costs for materials, with prices rising from a low of $26,180 in Oklahoma to $102,400 in Hawaii.
By: Andy Cockburn, NAIMA Canada
Millions of existing homes across North America need help improving their performance. Enhancing comfort, reducing energy costs, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions are all key priorities. One of the most effective ways to achieve these goals is through a deep energy retrofit (DER).
Insulation Institute focuses this week on five housing-related stories that are also, in part, affordability and energy efficiency stories. You may have missed a few of these, so we hope this quick recap will be informative and timely.
Harvard’s 2025 State of the Nation’s Housing Released
Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released the 2025 State of the Nation’s Housing Report on Tuesday. The report highlights a litany of concerns for the U.S. housing market and home buyers, including skyrocketing insurance premiums and property taxes, a sharp rise in homelessness, and growing dangers of climate disasters. Despite these challenges and in the face of diminished federal support, state and local governments are ramping up efforts to tackle affordable housing (which is also challenged by increasing homeowner costs, like utilities). For example, Minnesota has approved a bill allocating $242M to housing finance and another $100M in infrastructure bonds to support affordable housing development.
Details »A recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) survey revealed that a majority of prospective homebuyers rate energy-efficient features, such as above-code insulation and ENERGY STAR-compliant appliances and building products (including windows, doors, and HVAC systems), as essential or desirable. While the consumer desire for energy-efficient features isn’t new, it has only grown in importance in recent years.
