Homebuyers are choosing homes with much higher carbon footprints than they realize

When people shop for a home, they tend to focus on the information listings put front and centre: price, floor area, number of bedrooms and location. Rarely do listings show how a home can shape a household’s carbon footprint through energy use and commuting. That is a significant blind spot. A home purchase can influence how much energy a household uses, how far its members travel and how much they spend on utilities and maintenance. Yet buyers often make one of the biggest financial decisions…