Better EPCs Sell Homes – Can You Improve Yours?

Fri 01 Oct 2021

As we move into Autumn, it makes sense for people to consider their home, and whether it is equipped for wetter weather conditions and colder temperatures.

No matter what your short or long-term plans are for your home, making sure your energy performance is in good order makes sense. If you don’t plan on selling your home, you want to make sure it is as cosy and as comfortable as possible. If you are selling your home, boosting your EPC might have a big impact.

At ADM Residential, we are fully committed to ensuring you sell your home in the most effective manner. Focusing on energy-efficiency is just one way you can positively impact the sales process.

Can you improve your EPC?

Property Energy Professionals Association (PEPA) has spoken about the importance of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings on property prices. The organisation has examined research carried out by Nationwide and said that properties holding an A or B rating carry a value that is around 5.2% greater than properties with an F or G rating.

With PEPE stating the average value of property stands at £280,000; this could see an additional £14,500 added to the house price.

What do the experts say?

Andrew Parkin, PEPA Chairman, says: “With property and energy prices continuing to rise and with increased global focus on energy efficiency and carbon emission reductions, the value of improving energy efficiency in properties is only likely to increase. It makes sense for homeowners to invest in an EPC now to find out what opportunities there may be to enhance the value of their property and reduce energy bills without waiting for the time when they may wish to sell.”

Andrew Harvey, senior economist at Nationwide, said: “Decarbonising and adapting the UK’s housing stock is critical if the UK is to meet its 2050 emissions targets, especially given that the housing stock accounts for around 15% of the UK’s total carbon emissions. With this in mind, we used our house price data to explore the extent to which owner occupiers pay a premium or discount for a home due to its energy performance rating. To do this, we included energy efficiency ratings from [EPCs] alongside the usual property characteristics data we use in our House Price Index.”

Andrew Harvey continued by saying; “This allowed us to control for other factors that can influence the value of a house or flat and isolate the impact of energy efficiency ratings alone. Government analysis based on the latest English Housing Survey suggests that if all eligible energy improvement measures defined in the EPC methodology were to be installed in the current stock of dwellings, 98% would be rated A to C, with just 2% in band D or lower. Installing all the recommended energy improvement measures in homes currently rated F or G would result in an average saving of around £1,780 per year.”

Andrew Harvey concluded by saying; “However, the installation cost for such measures is also high at an estimated £25,800, meaning a payback period of around 14 years. The government’s current aspiration is to upgrade as many homes as possible to band C by 2035. The average cost to improve a property to an energy efficiency of band C is c£8,100, though the cost is considerably higher for properties rated F or G. However, the pace of energy efficiency improvements is relatively slow given the scale of the challenge. For example, insulation installation is well below the 2012 peak, the last year of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Savings Programme. This suggests a need for further incentives to help decarbonise homes.”

If you are selling your Huddersfield home, contact us today. You can book a valuation or just chat about how we make a difference in selling your home. Of all the estate agents Huddersfield vendors can call on, we like to think we make a difference in selling local homes, so contact ADM Residential today.