Exploring the role of eco-awareness in shaping green real estate purchase decisions

Purpose This paper attempts to examine the role of social attitudes, environmental knowledge and perceived behavioural control in determining green real estate purchase intention. Furthermore, the study also analyses the mediating effects of eco shame between environmental knowledge and green real estate purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study was conducted with 388 prospective homebuyers, selected based on the will to buy property in the near future. The study employs structural equation modelling to assess how the variables relate to each other and validate the proposed hypotheses. Findings The findings revealed that green real estate intention is significantly impacted by social attitude, environmental knowledge and control perceived behaviour. Further, the role of eco-shame mediates the relation between environmental understanding and purchasing behaviour to some degree, suggesting the possibility that green-aware consumers respond with more instances of eco-shame, improving their willingness to purchase green housing. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to psychological and social factors, perhaps indicating shifting tastes over time. Future studies may explore green real estate purchasing behaviour in different demographic and geographic settings, as well as explore how regulatory actions or financial incentives affect consumer behaviour. Practical implications This study provides helpful insights for real estate developers, policy-makers and marketers in assessing the importance of eco-awareness in influencing green housing demand. The developer can direct attention to environmental features within their housing projects; policy-makers may improve upon incentives and eco-certifications to increase adoption rates; marketers can engage in campaigns that harness the knowledge of the environment and hybrids of personal responsibility and social attitudes that construct a framework so consumers can respond to seeing their green housing purchase as synonymous with sustainable and socially acceptable housing. Overall, these efforts can improve consumer willingness to purchase sustainable real estate. Social implications The findings highlight the avenues that eco-awareness and eco-shame influence structural social change through the promotion of green housing. When members of social networks view green housing as a socially desirable change, it can generate collectively activated behavioural shifts towards more sustainable living. The societal benefits can be immense: reduced ecological footprints, healthier communities, more environmental stewardship, etc. As this research showed, highlighting green housing has the potential to connect individual-level responsibility to group well-being, producing lasting social and environmental dividends. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the very first to discuss the mediating role of eco-shame in the intention of buying green property. It presents significant implications for policy-makers, real estate developers and marketers through the highlighting of key behavioural factors affecting consumer choices for sustainable property.