Research carried out by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has revealed the growing importance of energy efficiency to people looking to move house.

Around three in four respondents (73%) to the HBF’s survey stated that they are worried about the energy performance of their current home, with around a quarter (24%) saying energy efficiency will be ‘crucial’ to their next home move.

The survey found that ‘Eco friendly’ and ‘Having a good Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)’ were rated as the second and third most important factors respectively, behind ‘private outdoor space’.

The survey comes alongside a new report – Greener, Cleaner, Cheaper – which finds that:

• owners of new build houses and flats will save homeowners an average of £435 a year, rising to £555 for new build houses alone.
• The average new build home emits 2.38 tonnes less of carbon each year, around one-third of the carbon produced by the average older property.
• The research shows that despite new build homes being, on average, 7.4% larger than older properties, new homebuyers are still generating valuable savings every month.

And with more lenders beginning to offer green mortgages – such as lower interest rates for buyers of more energy efficient homes – and stricter EPC requirements for landlords renting out domestic properties, home builders are urging lenders to go further, faster to assist homebuyers in making the right environmental choice. Factoring into mortgage calculations the lower bills paid by new build buyers would enable even further savings to be made by buyers.

Read the full news here.