The allure of Eco homes

We are finding that some buyers are increasingly being drawn to modern or new homes with excellent Eco credentials.  Technological advances in this field have moved fast and this could be in the form of many things such as air source heat pumps, ground source, heat recovery systems, solar power with battery storage and bio-mass systems amongst others.

Whilst in some cases grants have been obtainable for the owners to improve their homes, the costs can be high, but they see it as future proofing their property and this has been a growing trend. We currently have a new build country house for sale, recently featured in the Sunday Times which is completely off grid. This relies on a bank of solar panels and battery storage to feed the air source heat pump to under floor hearting. If the solar array isn’t producing enough power then a diesel generator kicks, which spread across the calendar year is a relatively low figure considering the size of house.

We are about to market another new build country house which is has been built as a passive design.  With some owners wanting the flexibility to lock up and go, the ease of a new build with low maintenance and excellent eco credentials is certainly attractive.

Low EPC’s, low running costs and green energy are moving into rural property swiftly. That said, there will always be buyers who have a preference for a beautifully restored Old Rectory or a chocolate box cottage and those in good condition are much easier to sell. We see the allure of village and rural modern houses in both contemporary and traditional designs continuing to grow with demand exceeding supply.

CS – January 26