Impact Of Environmental Issues In The Housing Market

If you pay attention to the news, you will know that the COP26 event has been held in the United Kingdom this November. There has been considerable focus on environmental matters, and what we can do to assist in the battle against climate change.

While the onus is on major organisations and Governments, it is fair to say that individuals and households will look to make changes too. Whether your main focus is on saving money or the environment, there is a lot to be said for making green changes in and around your home.

You must have an EPC in place when selling your home

If you are selling your home, you know you need to have an EPC in place. This is a vital document which informs prospective buyers of the energy-efficiency rating of the property.

However, a recent study perhaps suggests that buyers aren’t as interested in environmental matters as they could be when looking for a new home. This isn’t to say that you can afford to ignore green matters, but it is a reminder that you should cover all aspects, and not just one or two issues if you are looking to appeal to prospective buyers.

What do homebuyers want to see?

A study undertaken by the Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group, which spoke to more than 2,000 adults, provided the following results:

Only 13% of respondents said energy-efficiency was something they considered when buying their home
There were considerable regional variations, with 26% of London buyers considering energy-efficiency but only 5% of Welsh buyers doing the same
29% of buyers aged between 18 and 34 considered energy-efficiency matters when looking for a home
Only one in six homeowners has serious plans to improve the energy efficiency of their home in the next five years

David Adams, EEIG spokesperson, says: “Even with worries about energy supply, rocketing energy bills and climate change in the press daily, it’s clear from our research this isn’t prompting the magnitude of demand for home energy performance improvements necessary to solve these problems. Clearly, government intervention is necessary to change this trajectory, but so far short-term initiatives have failed to deliver the kind of sustained take up necessary. In the absence of any other viable approach to stimulate and support owner occupiers to act at scale, the EEIG is advocating for the government to deliver a green stamp duty incentive.”

David Adams continued by saying; “This will make energy efficient homes cheaper to buy and will remind those who are buying a lower performing home of the improvements that are likely to be necessary during their period of ownership. It will also encourage people to start thinking about potential improvements to their homes at the time of purchase and plan ahead to realise the rebate. It’s necessary that this type of policy is adopted rapidly to be fair to homeowners and to give the government the chance to reach its target of a 78 per cent reduction of UK greenhouse emissions by 2035.”

At Prestige & Village, we care about our community, and supporting others. We aim to provide you with as much help and assistance as we can. If you have any property or housing questions, please feel free to contact us today.