New Energy Rating for houses?

JimmySmith

Heard this discussed in the oub last night and the consensus was that it wont be that important to buyers at all after the initial public fanfare has died down.
I hate to admit i was of the opinion that it would be important but was swayed to the other end of the spectrum last night having talked about it.
Ok it may be important to the people who post here (as i am a bit of an eco nut myself), but for the vast majority of people it will be no more important than the energy rating on a washing machine.
Most people buy what they like and are not concerned with energy ratings. How many people in Ireland actually cared which type of heating the house they bought had in the last few years (electric, oil, gas) when it came to bidding on their dream home. very very few i bet.

rooferPete

Hi Jimmy,

I think the people will be made to think about the energy rating of their home because they will be paying in more ways than just increases in fuel costs.

The cheap washing machine is a false saving unless it's not used very often but the house will be in constant use and the carbon tax will be introduced in some form or other.

The average home owner will prefer to pay one tax on the fuel they use instead of another higher property tax, it doesn't matter what the local TD says today the idea of a property tax has already been sounded out and there has been very little if any protest about it.

Up to know the buyer in the last ten years has only been worried about getting the roof over their head, now they are in the game they will soon find how easy it is for the government to change the rules, and lets face it, owning your own home is not exactly a game where you can say I quit.

A lot of people don't realise that the building regulations apply to a lot of the work carried out on their home today, some don't know that when fitting a new roof you must upgrade the insulation and many more regulations are there waiting to bite if ignored.

I think if they didn't care when bidding they will care and in the not too distant future

.

CJhaughey

I would say that people will in fact realise that owning an energy efficient house will in fact be a big deal a very big deal.
If people are so unconcerned about energy cost how come 3 litre cars are not more popular?
I would say that a big proportion of people wil say that efficiency is a big part of their decision on whether or not to purchase a particular vehicle.
Will it not be the same for a house? as year on year increases in fossil fuel prices (25% gas increase) bite more and more people will vote with their wallets.
I do not think that anyone is immune from high energy costs even the super-wealthy will feel them to some extent but for the average punter I believe energy efficient houses will increase in value at a faster rate than inefficient houses.
and as rooferpete says it will probably be a nice easy way for the government to tax the housing market tie house tax in with energy efficiency... nice thought:(

JimmySmith

I woulod have agreed with you both until i realized the other night that i am biased because i want to do somthing for the environment.

Interset rates rises are the single biggest issue with being able to pay a mortgage yet it does not stop people buying a house. We already pay tax on oil gas etc. Even when the price of a fill of oil jumped from €400 to €650 in the space of a year people moaned about it but it still hasnt had the vast majority thinking twice about buying a house heated by oil.

Energy is a neccesity and therefore will always be bought when needed regardless of cost.

3 litre cars are not bought because of high insurance costs and refusal opf insurance companies to quote anyone under 50 on a 3 litre car. Have a look accross the atlantic and see if 3 litre cars are popular. In fact they are a bit on the small side

I just dont believe that a big proportion of people are concerned with energy consumption at all. And have come to the conclusion that as in many things in life - people always assume that because they themselves think that their take on things is the correct one that others will have the same view.

I think i was looking through rose tinted glasses and didnt realise that because myself and my circle of friends cared about the environment and the money in our pockets that most people did. The simple truth is that when buying a house the vast majority are not concerned with anything more than price of the house. I dont think that enough people will be concerned with a bad energy rating to effect the price of houses. What happens after the house is bought is a different story.