Greening the property market: why more vendors advertised sustainable features in 2023
The states and the suburbs with the highest number of environmentally friendly properties for sale are not where you think
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Just under 15 percent of homes for sale in FY23 were ‘green listings’, new research reveals.
Green listings, which are defined as having at least one environmentally-friendly feature providing energy or water savings, such as solar panels, a home battery and rainwater tanks made up 101,479 of the 687,874 homes that went onto the market in FY23, Australia’s largest real estate network, Ray White, reports.
Queensland had the highest proportion of green listings overall in FY23 at 20.3 percent. This compares to 19.6 percent in the Northern Territory, 19.5 percent in South Australia, 16.1 percent in the ACT, 15.7 percent in Western Australia, 11.6 percent in Tasmania and 11.4 percent in both New South Wales and Victoria. The number of green listings advertised has been growing over the past three years as homeowners think more about their carbon footprint and embrace sustainability. The number of listings with one or two green features has risen from 17.2 percent of listings in 2020 to 19.5 percent in 2023, according to Ray White.
Skyrocketing electricity prices and the availability of government incentives to encourage homeowners to invest in eco-friendly features are no doubt contributing to higher interest in green homes. A growing uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) is also leading to more homeowners installing EV chargers in their garages. The Electric Vehicles Council of Australia reports that the number of sales of EVs in the first half of 2023 exceeded the total number sold in 2022.
Buyers’ interest in green features is prompting more agents to include such details in the advertising copy for homes for sale, said Ray White data analyst, William Clark. “Over the last three years, there has been an increasing proportion of listings with ‘solar panels’, ‘battery’ or ‘off-grid’ appearing in advertising copy,” he said. “This is not an exhaustive list of ways a house can be green, however solar panels were the most frequently advertised, while batteries and being off-grid make a house green to the greatest degree.”
In New South Wales and Victoria, the suburbs with the highest percentage of green listings were all in regional areas. In other states and territories, there was a broader mix across regional and capital city suburbs. Clark said green properties were more commonly houses on large blocks of land. “With regional areas having a higher proportion of houses rather than units, single-family dwellings may retrofit green features such as solar panels and battery packs quicker and more autonomously than units and complexes with large strata groups. This means states, cities and suburbs with more houses and fewer units will see a higher proportion of green listings.”
Here are the suburbs with the highest percentage of green listings advertised in FY23.
Top suburbs for green listings
Source: Ray White, suburbs with at least 10 listings advertised in FY23
The greening of Australian homes is being helped along by regulation, with a new law in Victoria banning gas connections in newly built properties coming into effect yesterday. The ACT was the first state or territory to introduce such a law, which came into effect there in December.
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Strong rental fundamentals and tight supply have driven more than $155 million in Sydney apartment block and residential investment sales over the past year.
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Sydney’s residential investment market has recorded $155 million in apartment block and townhouse sales over 2025, underscoring continued investor confidence in rental-led assets despite broader economic uncertainty.
The transactions were completed by Knight Frank’s Investment Sales agents James Masselos and Adam Droubi, who negotiated 19 sales across Sydney during the year.
Residential investments accounted for 75 per cent of their total sales activity, supported by more than 4,200 active purchaser enquiries.
Co-living deal sets national benchmark
Among the standout transactions was the off-market sale of 142 Carillon Avenue in Newtown, a 37-studio co-living apartment block located close to the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
The property sold for $21.5 million, setting a new benchmark for the living sectors market nationally.
The deal achieved approximately $581,000 per bedroom, believed to be one of the highest per-bedroom results recorded for a co-living asset in Australia.
Inner-city assets trade in one line
Other notable sales included a group of 12 townhouses at 108 Illawarra Road in Marrickville, sold in one line for $14 million, and a block of 20 studio apartments at 171 Rowntree Street in Birchgrove, which changed hands for $6.7 million.
Both transactions reflected strong buyer competition for well-located residential assets with established income streams.
Supply constraints underpin momentum
Mr Masselos said Sydney’s apartment block market continued to benefit from tight supply and strong rental conditions.
“Apartment blocks and broader residential investments remain a robust asset class, underpinned by strong rental growth, record low vacancy levels and scarcity of stock,” he said.
He added that more than $25 million worth of residential investment opportunities are expected to come to market in 2026, with buyer enquiry remaining elevated.
Mr Droubi said competitive sales campaigns had become a feature of the market as investors sought secure income and long-term value.
“Supply constraints and ongoing population growth underpin market strength,” he said. “New approvals and completions lag demand, keeping stock tight and boosting both rents and prices.”
Vacancy rates keep pressure on rents
According to Knight Frank, rental demand across Sydney remains intense, with vacancy rates well below typical “healthy” levels.
Many middle and outer-ring suburbs are recording vacancies of around 1.5 per cent or lower, maintaining upward pressure on rents and reinforcing the appeal of residential investment assets.
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