Economists often say that markets make the best decisions. But that can be true only when markets have accurate and complete information. Today, the housing market is flying blind regarding one of the most important characteristics of a home: energy use. The solution is mandatory energy disclosure at the time of sale. It’s good for buyers, sellers and the climate.

Real estate appraisers and mortgage lenders have never embraced the market value of energy efficient homes despite convincing evidence. A new study by Freddie Mac provides more data in support of this added value.

This analysis, using standard business investment metrics, shows that a complete zero energy home retrofit can return 15% a year with zero risk. Beat that Wall Street!