The number of homeowners planning to make their properties more environmentally sustainable over the next 12 months has increased, according to NatWest, although stretched household budgets remain a challenge for many.
The bank’s latest Greener Homes Attitude Tracker found that 22% of homeowners questioned in the second half of last year said they intend to make green home improvements over the next year, up from 20% in the same period in 2023.
Looking longer term, 65% of homeowners said that they planned to make sustainable improvements to their property over the next 10 years, up from 62% in the same period last year, but down from 67% in the first half of the year.
The most popular sustainability-related change homeowners plan to make is installing an electric car charging point with 37% of homeowners saying they had plans to do this, followed by fitting triple glazing (35%) and solar panels (34%).
Upfront costs preventing upgrades
More than two-thirds of homeowners who said that they aren’t currently planning any sustainability-related home improvements said that the cost of the work required was a barrier.
Separate analysis by Santander found that more than half of homeowners (52%) want to improve their home’s energy efficiency, up from 37% in 2023, but a similar number (57%) said high upfront costs are preventing them from upgrading their properties.
Earlier this week, the government announced that up to 170,000 homes in England will soon benefit from energy efficiency upgrades as the rollout of its Warm Homes Plan gathers pace. The plan aims to deliver warmer, more energy efficient homes through government schemes.
Fiona Hyde, Head of Sustainability at Santander, said: "It’s really encouraging to see how many more UK residents are considering the benefits of energy-efficient homes. With the Government target to upgrade 5 million homes by the end of this Parliament, the Warm Homes Plan presents a prime opportunity to address homeowners’ concerns and incentivise action. Finding new ways to tackle both the financial barriers and the lack of knowledge around home energy efficiency improvements, will hopefully mark the turning point for us seeing homebuyer appetite result in action.”
Energy performance becomes more important
Nearly three-quarters (42%) of prospective homebuyers questioned by NatWest said that they considered a property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating a ‘very important’ factor in the final three months of 2024, up from an average of 39% in the same period of 2023. It is now a higher priority than access to public transport (40%) and green spaces (41%).
Next month will see the energy price cap increase by 6.4%, which means a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will see their bills go up by £111 a year, or £9.25 a month, to £1,849.
