Forget the ‘race for space’ or room for an extension, should agents start highlighting the green features of a vendor’s property more?
Research by Admiral Money has found that buyers may be willing to pay up to a quarter more for a property with a decent energy performance certificate rating.
A survey of 2,000 people by the loan provider found that three in four buyers are influenced by energy saving features when purchasing a property, with people saying they’d pay 24% more for homes with an energy performance (EPC) rating of C or higher.
Concerns around EPC ratings are at the forefront of buyers' minds, with 67% saying they’d ask to see the EPC rating prior to purchasing a property and a further 35% saying they would be put off purchasing an older property due to concerns around its energy efficiency.
The analysis also claims environmentally friendly or green features can boost a property’s value by up to 25% in some cases.
It analysed agreed sale prices on Rightmove across 13 cities with homes that featured green keywords including solar, heat pumps, insultation, triple glazing, low carbon and hive.
It then compared the prices with similar homes that didn’t have these features.
Based on this, the research describes solar panels as the best green investment for sellers, adding 25% to the value of their homes.
The second most valuable investment was insulation, as homes with this feature were selling for an additional 22% in comparison to similar properties in the same area.
Heat pumps were also seen to add up to 10% property value.
It is unclear if there were other features of these properties or context around the sale that also boosted their price.
Scott Cargill, UK CEO of Admiral Money commented: “Forget curb appeal – for those of us who are homeowners or buyers, it’s all about the green appeal.
“It’s encouraging to see that more and more of us are becoming eco-conscious when buying our homes – not least driven by environmental and energy-saving pressures. This demand is clearly having an impact on property values.”
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Green investment
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Average % uplift in value vs similar properties in same area
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Solar panels
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25%+
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Insulation
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22%
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Heat pumps
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10%
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Hive/smart systems
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7%
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Triple glazing
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2%
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Not sure how a solar panel can increase value by 25% - that sounds a bit incredible. But this is how I greatly improved a rental unit of mine.
I have a 3-bed rental, built in 1959 and it's not Listed. It was an EPC Grade E and my tenant was complaining of high energy bills last winter.
1. I got my domestic EPC assessor to prepare a draft 'as is' EPC and a draft 'predicted' EPC for the house based on the refurb I was planning to do.
2. My handyman installed 100mm of loft insulation between the joists and then an extra 200mm layer of loft insulation at right angles across the joists. This is current Building Regs standard for a new house. Loft insulation is £24 for a big roll at B&Q
3. I had a Google Nest thermostat/timer installed. I ordered this direct from Google and a professional installer fitted it within the price.
4. My plumber installed TRVs on all the rads and showed the tenant how to use them.
5. My electrician fitted a 'kill switch' by the front door wired into the lighting circuits of the Distribution Board. As the tenant leaves the house one push of the button turns off all the lights in the house. Very simple and effective.
6. My handyman changed all non-LED lamps over to Philip LED lamps
7.I had already got my handyman to install solid insulation board between the joists on the ground floor prior to some recarpeting that I did a few years ago.
8. Pioneer Insulation fitted external wall insulation around the walls. This was a big investment but the house now looks brand new and it's a unit that I'm holding long-term.
9. I couldn't justify the expense of new windows so I bought 'poor man's' secondary glazing from a small British company called WindowSkin. I used their product before to cover a large sash window in the winter in a draughty office that I use to rent. It's a custom cut piece of totally clear Perspex that clips on the inside of the window frame in winter to cut out 100% of window draughts. Stores under a bed in the summer.
10. Whilst we were at it my handyman installed a Nuaire DriMaster Heat Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) unit up in the ventilated loft with a outlet in the 1st floor landing ceiling. The tenant was moaning about condensation and being unable to dry clothes/towels. This simple fit-and-forget unit has totally solved these problems.
11. My EPC assessor came back after I had completed these works and gave the house an EPC Grade B by one point (score 81)). This certificate stays on the national database for the next 10-years.
My mortgage broker expects to be able to get a better rate for me now that I have a 10-year valid EPC Grade B when I have to refinance next year.
The above project took me about 10 x phone-calls and 2 x site visits to sort out. It really wasn't that onerous and I was surprised how straightforward it was after I’d done the initial research
I'm now close to finishing a similar package of works on my own family home – this will raise it from an EPC Grade E to a Grade C and will start to really reduce my energy bills in the next few weeks.
The price of going green and the unfeasible green agenda...
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