More than 50 per cent of homebuyers view energy efficiency as key factor
This New Homes Week (26 February – 3 March), housebuilder Davidsons Homes has released data from its own homebuyers, showing just how an important energy efficient new home is to them.
Of the buyers reviewed, 53 per cent said that the most important environmentally sustainable feature within their new community was energy saving measures.
This ranks above recycling services (51 per cent), access to private green space (49 per cent), renewable energy sources (45 per cent), building environmental ratings (24 per cent), smart features (15 per cent), parking alternatives and sustainable building materials and methods (both 11 per cent), and bike storage (three per cent).
With increased cavity walls and some plots built with solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) charging points, Davidsons’ homes are built with energy saving in mind. EV charging points will be particularly beneficial as new laws approved last October mean that charging will become easier, quicker and more reliable – making electric vehicles an even more common sight on our roads. These measures come as the country reaches record levels of public charging infrastructure, with numbers growing 42 per cent year on year.
Stephanie King/Simon Tyler, Sales Director for Davidsons East/South, said: “Gathering feedback from our buyers is of course a key part of our sales process – it’s the way that we create homes that people really want to live in year after year.
“That’s why we gathered this data, and we found the results fascinating. With a huge 53 per cent of homebuyers saying that they viewed energy saving measures as the most important environmentally sustainable feature of a new homes development, it helps us to understand what our buyers value, and where we should focus our energy when planning and building new homes.
“Of course, buying a new home is often an eco-friendlier choice anyway. More than 80 per cent of new builds have an energy efficiency rating of A or B, compared to just four per cent of older homes. In fact, recent research by the Home Builders Federation found that newbuild homeowners save around £2,600 a year in energy bills on average.
“As it is New Homes Week, which celebrates all the best things about new homes, it felt like the ideal time to release this data to show just how important energy efficiency is to homebuyers. It is certainly forefront of our minds when we are building homes – after all, lower energy bills and maintenance costs are just one less thing for buyers to worry about when they move into a Davidsons home.”