A study by the University of North Carolina’s Center for Community Capital analyzed actual loan-performance data obtained from CoreLogic, the lending industry’s leading source of such data. The study found that default risks are, on average, 32 percent lower in energy-efficient homes, controlling for other loan determinants. In other words, if we were to consider efficient homes the norm, then nonefficient homes have a 47 percent greater default risk, on average. Meanwhile, the Energy Programs Consortium reports that default rates for PACE customers are far lower than for typical customers. The burden of utilities is quite high for most American households. A 2017 study by ATTOM Data Solutions and UtilityScore found that the average U.S. household’s energy and water bills add 25 percent to the monthly cost of homeownership. - rmi.org