Erica Myers, University of Illinois

This paper explores whether mandatory energy audit information provision at the point of sale improves housing market efficiency.  We exploit the arbitrary rule that only homes older than 10 years are required to provide energy audit information at the point of sale under a municipal program in a mid-sized American city.  We estimate the effects of information provision on: (1) capitalization of energy costs, (2) investment in efficiency, and (3) energy usage.  We find evidence that electricity costs are capitalized into housing prices and around 10% of homes invest in energy efficiency within two years of sale, reducing energy consumption.  However, we find no evidence of a causal effect of information provision on improving these outcomes.