A survey conducted by Bloomberg Intelligence found that this year’s rise in gas and electricity costs have made energy efficiency important or very important for 87.7 per cent of prospective homebuyers. Nearly half (44.9 per cent) said it was “very important”.
Around 18 per cent of respondents across the UK said they’d prefer to buy a new-build property. That figure rose among those who had ranked energy efficiency as “most important” – 20.5 per cent of those responding across the UK and 25 per cent of the respondents in London.
Lack of energy-efficient knowledge
When asked about key energy-efficient features, some respondents put less emphasis on insulation and efficient boilers, which researchers interpreted as an indication that some respondents weren’t fully aware of all energy-saving features and how they worked.
The survey indicated that prospective homebuyers were prioritizing well-known and easy-to-understand methods instead of, for example, heat pumps which ranked near the bottom of popular features. A high EPC rating was also relatively low on the list, with just 22.6 per cent of respondents saying it was a priority for them.
Just 7.2 per cent said they would choose a smaller house to keep maintenance costs down.
Iwona Hovenko, real estate analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said: “First-time buyers, especially in London are far more likely than average to say that energy efficiency was very important to them in our survey, with energy efficiency key for 90 per cent of all buyers. However, their selection of the key energy-efficient features, while aligned with most respondents, puts less emphasis on insulation and efficient boilers, flagging a potential lack of knowledge.”
“Notably, simple energy-saving features are favoured by buyers over more complicated heat pumps”, she added.
