Today we’re fortunate to interview Cynthia Adams, Co-founder and CEO of Pearl, about Pearl SCORE™– the national standard for how homebuyers evaluate home performance. Pearl has built the first comprehensive performance database of America’s single-family housing stock, modeling every one of the nation’s 92+ million single-family homes and assigning each a Pearl SCORE™ that translates building science into a language homebuyers and agents can actually use, making it easy to compare homes and have real conversations about what it’s like to live in them.
At Skaggs Walsh, we’ve spent 90 years helping NYC and Long Island homeowners keep their homes comfortable, safe, and efficient. As HVAC, plumbing, and electrical specialists, we’re always interested in innovations that help home buyers understand the bigger picture of home performance before they purchase. We were eager to learn how Pearl’s rating system is changing the home-buying conversation.
Q: For those who’ve never heard of Pearl, what is a home performance rating, and why did America need one?
A: Pearl SCORE™ is America’s home performance standard that helps buyers evaluate any home across the five critical home performance pillars: safety, comfort, operations, resilience, and energy. We created this because buyers were making $400,000+ decisions with less information than they’d use to buy a $30,000 car. You wouldn’t buy a vehicle without knowing its MPG or how it rides. But until Pearl, there was no standardized way for homebuyers to understand what a home would be like to live in.
For homebuyers, the Pearl Home Performance Registry™ offers a free Pearl Snapshot on any single-family address in just a few minutes. This lets buyers compare the performance of homes they’re considering and have informed conversations with their real estate agents about which homes truly meet their needs.
Q: How does Pearl’s rating system help homebuyers make smarter decisions when evaluating homes?
A: When buyers compare two similar homes– same neighborhood, same square footage, same price– Pearl SCORE™ shows them how each one might perform. For example, two 1950s Cape Cods in Elmont both listed at $475,000 might look similar on the surface, but one scores 351 while the other scores 680. That difference can reflect meaningful variations in insulation quality, ductwork sealing, and system efficiency; the kinds of things that shape day-to-day comfort and operating costs.
This gives buyers a fuller picture of what each home offers beyond what they can see during a showing. Pearl SCORE™ helps buyers and their agents have more meaningful conversations about which home best fits their lifestyle, comfort expectations, and long-term goals. Pearl SCORE™ is the national standard for how homebuyers evaluate home performance because it helps surface performance conversations early — giving buyers a framework to understand what matters before they commit.
Q: NYC and Long Island have older housing stock, extreme weather, and high energy costs. How does Pearl’s rating system specifically help homebuyers in these challenging markets?
A: Older homes have tremendous character, and they also have complex systems that have been working hard for decades. A typical 1940s single-family home in College Point might score 250, which may reflect a home that hasn’t been updated to today’s standards. A homeowner or buyer could explore what’s behind the number — for example, insulation levels, air sealing, or heating system efficiency — to understand where improvements might make a difference. When heating oil is $3.60+ per gallon and electricity exceeds $0.23/kWh, understanding a home’s energy performance upfront helps buyers plan realistically for monthly costs and potential improvements.
Pearl SCORE™ helps buyers understand these factors before they commit. A Nassau County homebuyer can use Pearl Snapshots to compare homes side by side, seeing where each one performs well and where there may be differences in comfort, operating costs, or resilience. That kind of visibility helps buyers and their agents have informed conversations about what to expect from each home, so they can choose the one that’s the best fit for their needs. Every home has a story, and Pearl SCORE™ helps buyers read it clearly.
Q: How is Pearl’s rating system changing what homebuyers expect when evaluating homes?
A: Today’s buyers expect data and transparency. They grew up with ratings for everything (restaurants, hotels, cars, credit scores) and expect the same for the largest purchase of their lives. Pearl SCORE™ is America’s home performance standard and scoring system that helps buyers evaluate any home across safety, comfort, operations, resilience, and energy. When buyers pull up a Pearl Snapshot during their home search, it transforms their conversation with real estate agents from “Does this home look nice?” to “How does this home perform compared to others we’re considering?”
The Pearl Home Performance Registry™ provides a standardized framework that surfaces performance visibility early to allow homeowners to compare homes on performance, not just price per square foot. When agents reference Pearl SCORE™, they help clients understand the full picture: ‘Both homes are in your price range. This one scores higher on comfort and operations, and this one may offer different strengths. Let’s talk about which one fits your priorities.’ Pearl helps buyers and agents have a more informed conversation — not a more adversarial one.” Pearl SCORE™ helps buyers differentiate between homes that look similar but perform very differently. This transparency benefits everyone: buyers gain clarity early in their search, sellers gain a credible way to showcase performance, and agents gain a smoother, more informed transaction process.
Q: What should homebuyers do with Pearl SCORE™ data when they’re house hunting?
A: Start by accessing free Pearl Snapshots at pearlscore.com for any single-family homes you’re seriously considering. Share this information with your real estate agent to have informed conversations about which properties truly meet your needs.
Because Pearl SCORE™ captures a point-in-time snapshot of your home’s performance, it offers an objective view of where it stands today. If you love a home that scores 450 overall but its Operations pillar underperforms, that’s a signal to explore further — ask your agent or a home performance professional what might be behind the number and what improvements could make a difference. And because high-performing homes are the exception rather than the rule, a strong SCORE is something worth celebrating, a meaningful signal of quality that sets a home apart. Next time you’re touring homes, ask your agent to pull Pearl Snapshots so you can compare performance data alongside location, layout, and price.
