The real estate industry has operated for decades with a fundamental information gap. Critical data points about home performance—energy costs, climate resilience, indoor air quality, and more—have remained largely inaccessible to homebuyers. This can create friction in transactions, limit differentiation opportunities for selling agents, and can leave buyers to make decisions with less information than they deserve.
That paradigm is shifting.
Industry Recognition Signals Market Evolution
Pearl has been awarded the Inman News Best of Proptech Award in the Sustainability & Climate Resilience category, recognizing our role in bringing transparency to residential real estate transactions. This award reflects growing industry acknowledgment that performance data represents the next frontier in real estate technology and buyer expectations.
For real estate professionals, this recognition validates what many have already observed: today's buyers increasingly demand data-driven insights before making purchase decisions. The question is no longer if performance data will become standard in transactions, but when.
Before buying a $40,000 car, consumers can access detailed information about that vehicle's fuel efficiency, safety ratings, and more. Yet for a $400,000 home purchase, comparable performance data has been difficult, at best, to access....until now.
Introducing the Pearl Home Performance Registry™
The Pearl Home Performance Registry™ addresses this data gap by providing the nation's first standardized, searchable performance database for all U.S. single-family home. Real estate professionals can now access insights that can directly impact buyer decisions:
- Pearl SCORE™- The national standard for rating overall home performance and helps you understand a home's safety, comfort, operating cost, resilience, and energy efficiency.
- Estimated operating costs- How this home's estimated utility bills compare to those of a similar home matched by climate zone, location, and square footage.
- Performance insights: How this home performs across the five performance pillars used to calculate its Pearl SCORE™.
- Achievements: Homeowners can earn points, achievements, and certification levels by claiming and updating their home record inside Pearl app.
This isn't about adding complexity to transactions—it's about providing the information buyers are already seeking through more efficient channels.
The Pearl SCORE™ Framework: Five Pillars of Home Performance
The scoring methodology evaluates properties across five critical performance pillars (SCORE):
Risk Mitigation and Indoor Environmental Quality
With 24.7 million Americans affected by asthma (EPA data), indoor air quality represents both a health concern and a transaction consideration. Properties with documented air filtration systems, ventilation upgrades, and environmental hazard mitigation offer quantifiable advantages.
Operational Consistency and Livability
Temperature consistency and air quality directly impact occupant comfort and satisfaction with the lived experience in the home. Improved insulation, high-performance HVAC systems, and home air sealing all contribute to the comfort performance tier.
Total Cost of Ownership Estimation
The average U.S. household spends $2,200 annually on utilities (DOE). High-efficiency equipment and proper maintenance can reduce operational costs and extend equipment lifecycles by 5-10 years (NAHB data), creating measurable financial advantages for buyers.
Climate Risk Preparedness
With 70-80% of U.S. homes projected to face flood risk by 2050 (First Street Foundation), resilience features—impact-resistant windows, proper drainage systems, fortified roofing, etc.—are becoming increasingly more important to homebuyers.
Energy Generation, Storage and Grid Independence
Solar installations, battery storage, EV charging infrastructure, and smart electrical systems position properties for evolving energy markets and can eliminate monthly utility costs entirely, creating compelling data points to consider when comparing homes before purchase.
