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While securing a competitive interest rate remains crucial, a property's long-term running costs and climate resilience have officially joined the top of the borrower agenda.
New research from Great Southern Bank has quantified this shift, revealing that 85% of Australians would prefer to buy a home with renewable and energy-efficiency technology already installed.
The findings, part of the bank’s third annual No Place Like Home report, highlight a major growth avenue for the third-party channel as green lending products move from a niche offering to a mainstream requirement.
Borrowers are no longer just looking at the purchase price — they are increasingly factoring in climate resilience and ongoing household overheads to protect their bottom line.
Here are other key insights from the research:
Over one in three (35%) are concerned about climate-related risks impacting property values over the next decade.
Battery storage is the top planned upgrade, with 30% of households intending to install a system within five years.
Around 80% of Australians believe cost-of-living pressures will force them to delay their retirement.
Great Southern Bank’s green lending portfolio has doubled over the past 12 months.
This heightened awareness of energy costs and climate risk is directly translating into loan volumes across the lending landscape.
The urgency behind these property upgrades is heavily influenced by sustained utility shocks. While the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) recently indicated that its 2026-27 Default Market Offer would deliver some price reductions following two years of sharp increases, the cumulative damage to household budgets is already done.
Recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) highlights the severity of the squeeze, confirming that electricity prices in key markets surged by as much as 22.1% in the 12 months to June 2026.
Great Southern Bank reported that its green lending portfolio has doubled over the past year. This growth spans finance for energy-efficient vehicles, solar panels, home batteries, and sustainability-related home improvements.
Energy-efficient appliances (37%) and solar panels (35%) are currently the most common upgrades already installed in Australian homes. Meanwhile, 14% of households currently utilise battery storage systems.
This consumer preference aligns seamlessly with broader national trends. Data from the Clean Energy Regulator highlights Australia's world-leading uptake of rooftop solar, with millions of small-scale installations actively reducing reliance on the traditional grid.
Looking ahead, battery storage is the most popular renewable upgrade Australians plan to install over the next five years (30%). This is closely followed by energy-efficient appliances (29%) and solar panels (28%).
Rolf Stromsoe, Chief Customer Officer at Great Southern Bank, noted that buyers weigh long-term costs of owning a home over the initial purchase price.
"Renewable features can help lower ongoing household costs today while also giving people greater confidence their home will remain attractive and resilient into the future," Mr Stromsoe said.
"That's why we're seeing renewable features become part of what Australians consider a valuable home."
He added that renewable technology is becoming a much larger part of the property conversation, with buyers recognising the long-term savings these features deliver.
The report also shed light on the changing financial hurdles facing different generations of borrowers.
Younger Australians are being forced to enter the property market with significantly larger deposits than previous generations, which is delaying their purchasing timeline.
According to the data, Generation Z buyers are most likely to have paid an 11% to 15% deposit. Millennials are most likely to have saved a 16% to 20% deposit.
In stark contrast, Baby Boomers were historically most likely to have entered the market with just a 5% to 10% deposit.
This generational deposit gap is further reflected in federal housing data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Lending Indicators consistently track rising average loan sizes for first-home buyers, underscoring the sheer scale of the financial mountain younger Australians must climb to secure a property.
These heavier financial burdens are reshaping long-term plans. Around 80% of Australians now believe cost-of-living pressures will delay their retirement.
The most common expectation is a retirement delay of three to five years (22%), followed closely by a delay of five to 10 years (21%).
Despite these hurdles, Mr Stromsoe emphasised that homeownership remains a powerful driver for younger demographics.
"For many younger Australians, home ownership remains a goal worth making significant sacrifices for," he said.
"They're saving larger deposits, planning further ahead and making careful financial decisions, despite facing higher housing costs and ongoing cost-of-living. Their determination is encouraging, and something that our Bank is here to support."
Industry professionals working with younger demographics must adapt to these changing mindsets, as Gen Z turns homes into income and investment tools to combat modern economic challenges and build financial security.
