Speaking at the BuildStore conference in Swindon, Philip Santo, a chartered surveyor and professional practice consultant with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), said surveyors are already addressing the issue of how to assess a home’s environmental impact alongside its value.
He said: “EPCs [energy performance certificates] make no difference to the valuation of a property, but at some time in the future, it will be reflected. Someone will pay more for a house that costs £38 a year to heat than £2,000.”
Tim Fenn, of eco developments firm P3eco, added: “We are at a stage where we haven’t valued energy, as it hasn’t cost us much in the past. But we are about to go through a very rapid change and I don’t think the industry will keep up with that. EPCs are not accurate enough and consumers don’t understand them.”
Santo highlighted research in Holland that suggested there was a 5% premium for more energy efficient properties. He noted that central heating has become so standard in the UK that properties without it are priced lower, something he believes will soon be mirrored in energy efficiency.
However, Santo said it was not the surveyors’ role to dictate the market, but reflect it, and they would wait until the housing market begins to reward homeowners on price for energy efficiency.
He added: “It is important valuers are ready to quantify that differentiation. We can’t pretend there is no difference in properties.”
Indeed, Stephen Hill, director at RICS, said the housing industry needs to have a debate to better understand the way things are going.
“It has started to happen in the commercial sector, because they are looking at forward renting schemes and properties built now that are less sustainable in ten years will be harder to let.”
