Touchstone Energy Home rebates soar as interest rates fall
With the lowest interest rates in almost half a century, speculative home and heat pump rebates have increased in West Florida Electric Cooperative’s service area and other portions of northwest Florida and Alabama served by Alabama Electric Cooperative, or AEC. In the first half of 2003, AEC member systems, including WFEC, have experienced a rise in two rebate programs. In the past year, rebates on heat pumps have increased 30 percent and rebates to contractors building speculative homes have increased 56 percent among the Touchstone Energy® cooperatives AEC serves.
The Touchstone Energy® Home program, offered by cooperatives in south and central Alabama and northwest Florida, adds value to homes through energy efficiency savings. Homeowners significantly benefit from constructing a Touchstone Energy® Home, which offers lower utility bills as the result of higher-than-conventional construction standards. Energy-efficient construction techniques increase comfort, as well, by virtually eliminate drafts and temperature gradients that make the home seem warmer or colder than it really is. Additionally, better-constructed, more energy-efficient homes offer higher resale value in the marketplace. In a recent survey, 85 percent of respondents believe energy saving features add to a home’s resale value. Cooperative energy experts work with builders to help homes meet energy-efficiency standards.
Several AEC member systems have felt the impact of this building surge within their service territories, and experts predict the market growth will continue. The U. S. Commerce Department reported in late June that sales of new single-family homes rose for the third consecutive month in May to a record-high seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.16 million units. This was12.5 percent ahead of April's seasonally- adjusted sales pace, and the fourth time this year that sales have eclipsed the million-unit mark.
Sales of new single-family homes in the Southern U. S. in May posted double-digit gains of 16 percent. "This is one more report that confirms what builders in the field have been saying for the last several months – buyer demand is really being fueled by the outstanding financing climate and solid investment potential of new homes," said National Association of Home Builders President Kent Conine.
A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative, Alabama Electric Cooperative is a generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Andalusia, Ala. Its provides electricity to two municipalities and 16 distribution cooperatives in south and central Alabama and northwest Florida, including WFEC Touchstone Energy® is a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service to customers large and small.
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