MSE News: Energy-saving measures can boost your home's value, study says

Former_MSE_Darryl

"Energy-saving improvements could increase your home's value by up to 38% in some parts of England, according to Government research..."

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Energy-saving measures can boost your home's value, study says



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Wywth

The numbers don't seem to make much sense to me

The report says

Energy-saving improvements could increase your home's value by up to 38% in some parts of England, according to Government research.

Ok, so that's probably the best figure attainable depending on what is spent, location, etc.

However the report goes onto say

The study from the Department of Energy and Climate Change says prices rise by 14% on average after improvements have been made ...

The average English home which moves from band G to E, or from band D to B, could see more than £16,000 added the sale price of the property.

A £16k difference, representing a 14% increase would imply the average price for a house was about £114k

But in a recent MSE article it said the average price for a house was £166k (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/mortgages/2013/05/house-prices-still-rising-halifax-says)

I know that is from the Halifax, and average prices do vary a little depending on the source of the figures, but MSE said Nationwide were quoting £164.5k as an average in March this year
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/mortgages/2013/03/house-prices-show-annual-increase-for-first-time-over-year

So where does the £114k average price come from?
(or £130k after said improvements)

markmas

So a current house owner can make improvements to the house, paying for it 'on credit'. Then expect the new owners to pay extra for the house because of the improvements, but then also pass on the debt to them as well?

Surely any prospective buyers will be asking if there are any Green Deal debts attached to the home. Then if there are, they will ask for a discount on the market value of the house to reflect the debt they are being asked to inherit.

Ken68

A long plain roofed house facing south ought to be worth more.
When I raised this with a local estate agent they were not aware of any extra interest from buyers or housebuilders.

John_Pierpoint

One of these days there just might be a TV presenter who understands the physics of energy conservation and the relative efficiency of each improvement.

A couple of years ago, I had some sport comparing Estate Agent's printed woffle, with the factual content of the Energy Performance Certificate, then emailing them their information was factually inaccurate, and so illegal. Several struggled to understand why adjectives such as "cosy" did not really apply to a standard "E" solid stone walled home heated from a red gas cylinder; however attractive the kitchen and bathroom might be.

Hands up any seller who has had a buyer saying "can I have a copy of the EPC".

In the mean time the standard advice for increasing the value of a home by £15k remains install a new kitchen & bathroom.

[In my experience the quality of the food is in inverse proportion the the cost of the kitchen]

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=61535737#post61535737

Wywth

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

...Hands up any seller who has had a buyer saying "can I have a copy of the EPC"...

I would hope the Estate Agent who will be paid a small fortune if they sell the property would provide this to prospective purchasers

They certainly do around here, and most offer this information online too