“Location, location, location” may be the most material factor in determining the value of your home, but it’s of course not the only variable to play a role. Using a free home valuation tool, such as Purplebricks’ “How Much is My House Worth” feature, one can see that other things come into play, such as quality of exterior and interior features.
The presence of unique and functional features can also make an impact on the underlying value of your property. However, alongside these more commonly-understood factors, is another factor you may want to keep in mind, if you are in the process of selling your home.
That is, you may want to take into account the eco-friendliness of your home. More importantly, you may want to consider what eco-upgrades you can make to your home between now and officially putting it up for sale.
Why? Beyond just being beneficial to the planet, it could prove beneficial to your own personal bottom line. Here’s why.
Making Green by Going Green
Let’s be honest—adding environmentally-friendly upgrades doesn’t come cheaply. In fact some features, such as solar panels, can cost in excess of £10,000. However, while giving your home an eco-boost may prove costly upfront, on the backend it may prove worthwhile.
At least, that’s the key takeaway, from a recent survey on the importance of eco-friendly and sustainable features among home buyers. Per the survey, home buyers may be willing to pay 10% more for an “eco-friendly” home than for a standard home. In other words, based on the current average UK home selling price of around £300,000, an eco-upgrade could add an additional £30,000 to your home’s value.
For homebuyers in more expensive UK housing markets, like Greater London, the potential impact on property values could be even greater, given how home prices in the London area can be twice that of the national average.
Even if more costly eco-friendly installations eat up much of this additional upside, keep in mind two other things. First, you may not necessarily need to add solar panels to give your property’s value a “green boost.” Second, beyond just increasing your home’s potential value, “going green” could provide prospective home sellers with another benefit.
The Optimal Approach to Eco-Upgrades
If you are thinking of integrating eco-friendly features for financial reasons, you may not want to necessarily go full bore in adding them to your home. Rather, it may be best to strike a balance between the cost of particular eco-upgrades, and their potential impact on your home’s value and appeal among home buyers.
For instance, instead of installing solar panels and an EV charger, consider less costly, yet still-appealing, “green” features. Examples of these include improvements like triple-glazing for windows, as well as the installation of smart metering systems.
According to the same survey mentioned above, 69% of existing homeowners said they are looking for their next home to come equipped with green features. A big reason for this may have to do with home energy costs.
Given how lower-cost eco-upgrades like triple-glazing and smart metering can provide such benefits, you may be able to spend the money up front on such features, while at the same time getting a high return on your investment, in the form of a moderate increase in your home’s asking price.
Another Reason to Consider an Eco-Boost
The verdict is in: while their reasons vary, eco-friendly homes are in demand among UK home buyers. This could prove beneficial to your own bottom line if you’re in the market to sell your home, but beyond an increased asking price, there may be another reason to consider an eco-boost.
Besides maximizing your home’s selling value, adding energy-efficient and eco-friendly features could also potentially increase the time it takes to sell your home. As factors like economic uncertainty and recent changes to SDLT nil-rate exemption impact demand, this may prove beneficial.
