Energy Performance Certificates are redundant, says County Homesearch

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are having no bearing on the sale of properties, according to County Homesearch, although the intention was to help improve the energy efficiency of housing stock.

County Homesearch, with its 26 offices countrywide, has not come across a single case where buyers have queried the energy performance of a home to negotiate a price. Furthermore, no transactions have been driven down in price because of a poor EPC since the introduction of assessment in 2007.

Despite the claim of the Department of Energy and Climate Change that sellers making energy improvements to a property could boost its value by even more than the average, by as much as 38%, the independent homebuying company has not seen a single instance where a buyer has insisted on energy efficient improvements in the last five years or negotiated down the price due to a poor energy rating.

Jonathan Haward, spokesperson for County Homesearch comments:

“With extensive knowledge of what is happening on the ground, it safe to say the EPC is a blunt instrument and has made no discernible difference to housing stock in the country. Aside from the fact that the reports can sometimes be inaccurate and incomplete, buyers prioritise factors such as aesthetics, transport links and security over energy efficiency. The structural survey is usually relied upon for in depth information on levels of insulation which is an indication to energy consumption within a property.

“Buyers that go for larger period properties or listed properties are least interested in energy efficiency. They proceed, aware they are likely to be drafty and have higher heating costs, ignoring the EPC report even if one is applicable.”

Richard Le Neve Foster, Director at County Homesearch Thames & Chilterns comments:

“My experience of EPC’s is that the information on the report is often inaccurate or inappropriate.  I saw one recently that recommended double glazing to be installed on a listed building and a recommendation for a new efficient gas boiler when the property ran on heating oil and did not have connection to mains gas!”

Andreas Bonney, Director at County Homesearch East Anglia states:

“I tend to advise clients to treat them as a rough guide only, because they simply take a guess at the energy efficiency of a home based on its period and the typical type of building materials used at the time of the build.”

Stephen Wolfenden, Director at County Homesearch Oxfordshire says:

“EPCs are never ever mentioned by agent, vendor or purchaser. Nobody has ever questioned an EPC to me since they were introduced.”

Energy saving measures could put 14% on UK house price

Making energy saving improvements to your property could increase its value by 14 per cent on average - and up to 38 per cent in some parts of England - new research released today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) reveals.

For an average home in the country, improving its EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) from band G to E, or from band D to B, could mean adding more than £16,000 to the sale price of the property. In the North East, improved energy efficiency from band G to E could increase this value by over £25,000 and the average home in the North West could see £23,000 added to its value.

The report, which took into account over 300,000 property sales in England between 1995 and 2011, is the most comprehensive research in this area to date. It indicates that energy efficiency is now a key factor influencing the sale price of most residential dwellings in England.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said:

“We have long known the benefits of making energy saving improvements to the home, but this study is real evidence of the huge potential rewards. Not only can energy efficient improvements help protect you against rising energy prices, but they can also add real value to your property. This Coalition is committed to helping hardworking families with the cost of living. The Green Deal is designed to do exactly that.

“The Green Deal is helping more people make these types of home improvements, reducing high upfront costs and letting people pay for some the cost through the savings on their bills. The Green Deal is a great option for anyone wanting to improve the look, feel and potentially the value of their home.”

Kevin McCloud, broadcaster and co-founder of the Grand Designs Future Living home retrofit company, said:

“There are some 26 million homes in Britain, most of them about as well insulated as a rabbit hutch, and they need immediate help to be made less wasteful. This timely report tells us what we suspected all along: that people really value the well-insulated, energy-efficient home; that modest investment in measures to make our homes more comfortable, healthier and cheaper-to-run really pays off.

“The Green Deal is now maturing into a helpful way of financing a lot of the retrofit solutions around. Homeowners can now start to make these changes, alleviate the burden of high energy bills and improve the value of their prime asset.”

Nearly half (46 per cent) of properties in England are currently band D – but compared to this, a typical home in the West Midlands in band B is estimated to be valued at nearly £17,000 more. In the North East this could be over £19,000, £3,000 more than the national average.

James Brooks from Brooks Estate Agents said:

“For the majority of the UK we are seeing that there is a new factor dictating a home’s saleability. With fuel bills continuing to rise, buyers are becoming more and more conscious about the energy efficiency of their prospective new homes and are willing to invest more in a property now if they know it will cost them less to run in the future.

“As such, we always try to advise our customers to consider the real S.A.L.E. value – Size, Aesthetics, Location and Efficiency – when buying or selling.”

The Green Deal, the Coalition Government’s flagship energy efficiency initiative to transform the homes of Britain can help people capitalise on these findings. The Green Deal helps households pay for some of the cost of making energy-saving improvements, with the repayments spread out over time and paid back through the electricity bill.

Energy Rating and Dwelling Prices: Potential £ value increase

£ value increase from properties moving from EPC D to B & EPC G to E^*

	EPC D to B	EPC G to E
England average	£16,009	£16,701
North East	£19,265	£25,355
North West	£12,979	£23,155
Yorkshire & Humberside	£15,945	£17,298
East Midlands	£10,936	£10,177
West Midlands	£16,882	£9,282
East of England	n/a1	n/a1
South East	n/a1	n/a1
South West	£16,342	£8,026
London	£1,100	£41,808