Home hunters may pay 25% more for a ‘green property…

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.”