When buyers narrow a search to two finalists, the listings often look alike: similar price, similar size, similar neighborhood. The details that would separate them, such as how comfortable each home is or what it costs to run, are usually missing. Home Buying in the Energy Transition, a Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative study co-sponsored by Pearl, found that 84% of recent buyers called energy efficiency very or moderately important, yet only about 8% of 2025 listings mentioned it. That leaves many buyers comparing homes on photos and square footage.
Pearl gives buyers another way to compare. Pearl SCORE™ is the national standard for how homebuyers evaluate home performance. It rates every single-family home on the same five pillars, Safety, Comfort, Operations, Resilience, and Energy, so two homes can be compared on a consistent basis.
A fair comparison starts with the same information for each home. Buyers can look up each address in the Pearl app and review the results pillar by pillar. For finalists, the Pearl SCORE™ Report adds more detail. Buyers working with an agent can ask about the Pearl app for professionals.
It helps to look past the overall score to the individual pillars. Two homes with similar scores can get there in different ways. One might rate well on Comfort and Operations, while the other stands out on Resilience and Energy.
Every household weighs the pillars differently. A family with someone who has asthma may care most about Safety and indoor air quality. A buyer planning for an aging parent to move in may focus on Comfort and on air quality. A buyer watching the monthly budget may look first at Operations, while a buyer in an area where wildfires or flooding are common may look closely at Resilience. A buyer planning to add solar or charge an electric vehicle at home may start with Energy.
Settling these priorities before touring makes the comparison faster. It also keeps the decision focused on the household’s needs rather than on whichever home photographed better.
Buyers already weigh trade-offs. A home with four bedrooms competes with one that has three bedrooms and a den that could work as an office. Performance information fits into that same thinking.
Say the higher-priced home has newer windows and sealed ductwork. It’s likely to stay more comfortable year-round and may cost less to heat and cool each month, which can narrow the difference in what the two homes cost to live in. The lower-priced home may sit in the ideal location but need some work. Knowing that ahead of time, the buyer can decide whether to budget for new windows or other improvements after moving in. Neither home is the right answer for everyone. The information helps the buyer choose the one that fits.
A typical showing gives buyers about 30 minutes inside a home, sometimes less at a busy open house. That isn’t much time to judge how a home lives. Reviewing each home’s pillar results beforehand helps buyers use it well. They can check the upstairs rooms in the home with a lower Comfort result, ask about the age of the equipment in the home with a lower Operations result or have their agent ask the seller about recent upgrades.
The goal is a decision based on more than how two homes look online, with a clearer sense of what daily life would be like in each one.
About Pearl
Founded in 2013, Pearl is a ratings and standards company building the national standard for home performance. Pearl SCORE™ rates every single-family home in the U.S. across five key pillars — Safety, Comfort, Operations, Resilience, and Energy — so homebuyers, homeowners, and real estate professionals can understand how a home performs in daily life. As a Certified B Corporation, we’re accountable not only to our shareholders, but also to the homeowners and communities we serve. For more information, visit pearlscore.com.
This article is based on publicly available information from Pearl. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
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