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Does demand exist for greener homes?
23 April 2008 11:30
Indications of common attitudes to greener homes are decidedly mixed, a specialist website has argued, but government support should result in more being built.
Recent research by the Sponge Sustainability Network indicated that more than half of all Britons would be willing to pay more to live in environmentally friendly housing, while over nine out of ten wanted new homes to come with the option of sustainable features.
However, Julian Brooks from GreenMoves noted that the government is pushing greener homes in line with its emission reduction targets, but added that while some polls have shown strong public support as well, others have revealed high consumer wariness.
He said that builders, already concerned by a weaker property market, will use these signs of apathy to justify not producing more eco-friendly houses, but the government and the EU have already set their targets and the industry will have to respond accordingly.
Yet prices could prove a sticking point for buyers, with two out of five builders expecting greener homes to cost more, according to a National House-Building Council poll, at a time when Halifax's latest data indicates a 2.5 per cent fall in house prices for February.
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