Gas vs. oil--how much do you value gas? (Boston, Cambridge: real estate, rental)

[jayrandom]

For gas vs. oil heat, I'm wondering how much more you'd be willing to pay for an otherwise identical house with gas. Would it be a fixed number, a percentage, or something related to the house size bute not the house price.

[Allharv]

Arbitrarily, $10,000-20,000. That's accounting for how long I'd plan to live in a house to recoup the extra cost as savings in the energy bill.

[tickybox]

Well, since my plumber quoted me 10K to convert this house from oil to gas, then as long as the house was in an area where gas lines were available, that's it, 10K. There's no reason it should be worth more in a house than it would cost to have it installed.

[kingeorge]

I value location first and foremost. You can get away with a quite a lot if in sought after locale. Just ask people buying in Cambridge, Belmont, Arlington, Lexington etc.. Tell seller you will cut their asking price because there is no gas in the house and see how it goes.

Gas is cheaper and more popular, oil right now really has a bad rap. Gas prices are also going up, and it is naive to think gas will be forever cheap. Oil used to be cheap too.

I am yet to hear someone passes up on a great home just because there is oil. I wouldn't. Unless, all other big ticket items are overdue for the repairs as well. But such home might be money pit and oil is not only issue.

Rarely, there are two identical properties with gas and oil, but if they were, I would probably pay no more than 5-10K. Unless, location of one with the gas is much better, but then location is driving the price, not the gas really. Gas heating will not drive price of your home that significantly. Rarely it will cost more than 10K to convert to gas. Usually less.

Will gas heating and cooking make your home more attractive? Yes, but it is not the only thing that counts. What about windows, roof, and insulation? Not to mention siding, foundation, overall condition, etc..Gas heating is not magic bullet that will cure all ills.

[mainebrokerman]

kingeorge is right

natural gas is going to go up- part of the reason is this,,,our brilliant government now depends on oil TAXES
and if less oil is being used,,,then natural gas will get taxed more

we could have stopped dependency on oil 20 yrs ago,,,,make an 8-10 k electric hynrid car- and if the government gave out a stipend of 3-4k on each one,,
oil/gas usage would be cut in half immediately,,,but noooo,,,,,the politicians are getting greased by big oil,,,and they depend on taxes,,,
cigarrette taxes are down,,,they need to get it somewhere- god forbid they cut spending

[Brave Stranger]

Oil heat burns about 16% more efficiently than gas, and oil burners, if kept clean, usually last twice as long as gas burners. The costs are not as great between the two as it would first seem. Kingeorge is spot-on.....a newly built home near my rental unit in Arlington just sold for well over a million dollars & it has oil heat. Unlike the old days oil burning boilers can run up close to 90% efficiency.

Overall I would lean toward gas, but it's not a deal killer for me by any means. And if people really try & use this against a seller in this market in greater Boston....good luck.

[Boston_Burbs]

I strongly prefer gas but it is not a deal breaker.

I know if I go more rural than where I am now, I will most likely have to give it up which would suck. I like that is a continuous supply, direct vent, fuels a standby generator, typically forced hot air so you can add central air easily, you can get gas hot water heaters, stoves, and dryers.

For me a better discussion would be oil vs propane for new construction (no gas available). I think I would lean propane due to not having to build a chimney, but propane is not cheap and the whole tank ownership thing is weird.

[MikePRU]

Just food for thought . . . when I've read appraisal reports I've never seen a value adjustment on the report for what type of fuel source the heating system uses. Granted, it clearly has value but it seems the general consensus in the real estate industry is that it's not significant enough to note.

[SpringMom3]

Originally Posted by tickybox

Well, since my plumber quoted me 10K to convert this house from oil to gas, then as long as the house was in an area where gas lines were available, that's it, 10K. There's no reason it should be worth more in a house than it would cost to have it installed.

i was coming to say pretty much exactly this. it's approx 20k to convert for us plus appliances so not more than that.

[mdovell]

I like gas but I would say that until we have more pipelines the adaption is going to take longer.

Personally I think gas is better because a spill doesn't automatically cost 10,000. I used to work in a environmental protection company. Modern burners might work well but remember the biofuel also cost a bit more now. Bio fuels are liquid so it's doubtful they'd add it to gas.

Natural gas can also be used to power grills right off the house as well as backup generators. When Nemo hit there were people stuck in their homes for days. No power means no phone, cars ran out of gas because there was no power in the gas pumps. The town is buying more backup generators that are pretty much gas powered and pipelines are being made. It just makes more sense from all viewpoints I'm seeing.