Funding for green home loans has been made available by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), promoting sustainability in Australia through providing discounted interest rates to qualifying builders and home buyers.
Bank Australia, the first home loan provider to take up the CEFC finance, will measure energy efficiency to determine eligibility.
The Bank Australia Clean Energy Home Loan provides a 0.4% discount, applicable for up to five years, for customers who buy or build homes which achieve a minimum of 7-stars under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS), “materially exceeding” national minimum standards.
“This green home loan will fill a gap in the market, giving builders and new home buyers a financial incentive to adopt sustainable design principles from the start of the project,” said CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth.
“New homes built today will be in use for decades to come. We want those homes to have the strongest energy efficiency and to deliver the smallest carbon footprint possible.”
The Bank Australia Clean Energy Home Loan will draw on up to $60m in CEFC finance, providing the interest rate discount via its Premium Package Home Loan to mortgages below $1.5m.
In the future, Bank Australia plans to extend the benefits to finance green improvements for existing dwellings as well – a crucial initiative as the property sector accounts for 23% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, with residential buildings comprising half of that figure.
Bank Australia MD Damien Walsh said, “We’re proud to reward people who choose to make their homes more sustainable through our Clean Energy Home Loan.
“Working in partnership with the CEFC means we can bring this innovative new product to market sooner, and help more Australians.”
The adoption of higher clean energy standards in new residential buildings has the potential to deliver energy savings as high as 25%.
“We encourage all those involved in residential property – from design to development to purchase – to include a stronger focus on carbon emissions when they are making these long-term decisions about building and buying new homes,” said Learmonth.
“We are looking forward to working with Bank Australia in giving Australians an added financial incentive to choose cleaner, greener options when it comes to their homes.”
