Just over 60% of all homes to reach the market over the past year held an EPC rating of C or above, as buyers, tenants and housebuilders focused more attention on energy performance ratings.
This is according to research from epIMS, the EPC and energy efficiency platform. It analysed the number of homes that have been sold, let, or constructed in England & Wales over the past 12 months (Q4 2023 – Q3 2024) to see how many held an EPC rating of C or above and how this compares to the numbers from the previous 12 months (Q4 2022 – Q3 2023).
The analysis showed that over the past 12 months, 60.2% of all homes to have been sold, let, or constructed in England & Wales held an EPC rating of C or above, marking an increase of 1.6% on the previous year.
In London, 64% of homes reached the market with a rating of C or above, which is the highest proportion across all regions.
This is followed by the North East (61.8%), South East (61.5%), North West (61.5%), and East of England (61.4%).
Commenting on the latest data epIMS chief operating officer Craig Cooper said it was great to see an increased awareness of EPC ratings among tenants and buyers.
However he was keen to stress that an EPC rating isn’t necessarily reflective of how eco-friendly a home is, and that not enough people know that the overall EPC rating of A through to G fails to give the full, picture of what’s going on within the home. “For example, Air Source Heat Pumps are an environmentally friendly way of heating a home but provide less of a boost to the EPC rating than an efficient traditional gas boiler.”
He added: “True understanding of a home’s energy efficiency is only available when you study the EPC score on a much closer level, which means knowing how numerical EPC points accumulate to create the overall letter rating. This is how you get a full picture of a home’s energy efficiency and, more importantly, the steps required to improve it.”
