New research from Fair Fix, the boiler engineer experts, reveals that the carbon footprint caused by heating homes in England has increased by as much as 5.9% across some areas of the nation.  Fair Fix has estimated the amount of carbon emissions created by heating England’s homes in 2021 and 2022 to see how well the country is managing its carbon footprint. The calculation is based on an estimated carbon footprint for the average home, multiplied by the country’s entire dwelling stock.  It is estimated that heating a single home for a year creates 2,806kg of carbon emissions. In 2022, England’s dwelling stock increased by 1% to total 25.2 million homes. As a result, as a nation we created an estimated 70.6 million tonnes of emissions, also 1% higher than in 2021.  Regional look The South East created the largest regional carbon footprint in 2022, emitting some 11.4 million tonnes of emissions; an annual increase of 1%.  With emissions of 10.5 million tonnes, London’s carbon footprint also grew by 1%, as did the footprints of the East of England (7.8m tonnes), West Midlands (7.2m tonnes), and East Midlands (6.1m tonnes).  The smallest footprint increase was recorded in the North East where total estimated emissions from heating homes hit 3.5 million tonnes, an annual rise of 0.7%.  Worst local authorities On a local authority level, 2022’s largest home heating footprint was found in Birmingham (1.3m tonnes), followed by Leeds (1m tonnes) and North Yorkshire (848,891 tonnes). But the biggest increase was recorded in the City of London, where the carbon footprint increased by 5.9%. Two other London boroughs complete the three areas of biggest growth with Tower Hamlets and Brent increasing emissions by 3.1% and 2.8% respectively.  Warwickshire’s Rugby also saw an increase of 2.8%, before London boroughs returned again with a 2.6% rise in Newham and a 2.5% rise in Hammersmith & Fulham.  Founder of Fair Fix, Tyrone Ekrem, commented: “England is in the middle of a perpetual housing crisis. We are a nation in desperate need of more homes. But we are also a nation that, alongside every other country in the world, needs to slash its carbon emissions or else face the end of the world as we know it.  As we build more homes, our carbon footprint rises. So if we’re to solve our nation’s two biggest issues at once, it’s vital that we find a way of reducing the emissions created by heating our homes.  A big part of this effort should involve replacing outdated boilers and repairing those that aren’t working to their maximum efficiency. It’s something easy that we can all do to play our part in reducing England’s carbon footprint and hitting net zero for the benefit of the world.” Data tables  Data tables and sources can be viewed online, here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

New research from eXp UK, the platform for personal estate agents, has revealed that the gap between the very top and very bottom of the property market is currently a whopping 183,900% across England and Wales, when it comes to the highest and lowest sold price so far this year.  eXp UK analysed sold price data for transactions to have completed so far this year (Jan to Aug – latest available), looking at the market gap between the very top and bottom ends of the market.  The research shows that so far in 2023, the most expensive property sale has been an apartment in Ashburton Place in the City of London, which sold in June for a staggering £38,640,0000.  At the other end of the market, a terraced home in Cumberland Street in County Durham sold in March of this year for just £21,000.  As a result, the current gap between the very top and bottom end of the property market across England and Wales currently sits at 183,900% – a difference in sold price of over £38.6m. In London, the most affordable home sold in 2023 so far comes in at £80,000, meaning the gap between the bottom end of the market and the £38.64m home sold in the City of London is still 48,200% – the largest market gap at regional level.  In the South East, the most expensive home sold in 2023 to date went for £20.75m, some 47,601% more than the region’s most affordable sale at £43,500.  The South West ranks third in this respect, where the most affordable home sold commanded £35,000, while the region’s most expensive home sold for £13.5m – a market gap of 38,471%.  The East Midlands is home to the smallest market gap of all regions of England and Wales. Even still, the most expensive home sold so far this year went for £2.5m while the most affordable sold for £30,000, meaning the market gap across the region still sits at 8,235%. Head of eXp UK, Adam Day, commented: “Getting a foot on the housing ladder is a tough ask in this day and age and the average cost of a home has spiralled in recent years.  However, the market itself is incredibly fragmented and while average house price data gives us some insight, it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story.   It’s fascinating to see just how large the gap is between the very top and very bottom of the house price rankings and how this gap is sizable regardless of which region you look at.” Full survey results can be viewed online, here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

The latest research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that a fifth of all homes sold so far this year across the capital have done so for £1m or more, by far the largest proportion when compared to other major cities across England and Wales.  Benham and Reeves analysed sold price data from the Land Registry for property sales to have completed so far this year (Jan to Aug 2023 – latest available) across 12 major cities. Benham and Reeves then looked at what proportion of total sales sold for £1m or more, the average sold price and the total value of homes sold.  The London market continues to lag behind the rest of the nation when it comes to the annual rate of house price growth, down -0.8% in the last year, one of just three regions to have seen a year on year decline.  However, when it comes to homes sold at £1m or more, London remains the dominant force within the market.  The research by Benham and Reeves shows that so far this year, 3,716 properties have sold for £1m or more across London, equating to 21.1% of total sales completed across the capital.  Bristol ranks as the city with the second highest number of £1m property transactions, although the 86 homes sold for £1m or more equate to just 1.9% of total homes sold.  Sheffield (0.9%), Newcastle (0.6%) and Leeds (0.6%) also rank within the top five, albeit £1m property sales account for less than 1% of all homes sold in 2023.  London also sits top in terms of both the median sold price and total value of £1m property sales.  Homes selling above the £1m threshold have averaged a sold price of £1.45m versus £565,000 across the rest of the London market.  In total, London’s £1m homes have sold for a combined value of £312.2m, with Bristol again ranking second albeit someway off the pace set by London with a total value of £156.1m. Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “It’s fair to say that the London market as a whole has been underperforming for some time and we simply haven’t seen the same high rates of house price growth envelope the capital when compared to the rest of the nation.  However, there’s no doubt it remains the driving force when it comes to homes sold for £1m or more and in this respect, no other major city comes close.  We’ve seen strong levels of demand so far this year across the upper tiers of the London market, buoyed by the return of foreign homebuyers, in particular.  So while London may not be seeing any spectacular growth at a top line level, it is very much a case of quality of quantity in the current market.” Data tables Data tables and sources can be viewed online, here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

Northern England the worst offender In a time when people are struggling to buy and rent homes, 676,000 of England’s stock worth £212 billion is sitting empty. The research comes from property purchasing specialist, House Buyer Bureau, which measures the number of vacant dwellings up and down England. Across the country 2.7% of the nation’s stock isn’t utilised, a travesty at a time where supply is so lacking. North of England The North East is the worst region for vacant properties, where 3.3% of homes are empty, followed by the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, where 3.0% isn’t used. Looking in more detail, Liverpool has the highest proportion of rental stock that’s lying vacant, with 10,769 vacant dwellings out of 229,863, amounting to 4.7% of all stock. The third and fourth worst areas are also in the North East, as 4.4% of properties are left empty in both Burnley and Blackpool. Is it time to bring back the Empty Home Programme?  England used to have an Empty Homes Programme, which provided funds to social landlords and housing groups to bring empty homes back into use.  This was established by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government and ran between 2012 and 2015, as the Tories failed to continue with the scheme after winning an overall majority in parliament that year. Individual councils can penalise owners for leaving their properties empty, as the City of London gradually charges owners more council tax the longer they leave them empty. London Greater London makes use of the highest proportion of its stock, as just 2.4% of total dwellings are thought to be sat vacant.  This puts the capital ahead of areas like the East of England, the South East and the South West, all of which leave 2.5% of their stock unused. There’s a different trend in Prime areas however, as in the City of London district a sizable 4.5% of homes are left empty, despite the efforts of the council. This amounts to 351 properties out of 7,775. The most valuable empty stock The region with the most valuable set of vacant dwellings is the Prime Kensington and Chelsea, where 3,196 dwellings are unused worth £4.3 billion. After that comes another area in the capital, as Camden’s 4,498 empty dwellings are worth £3.73 billion. Due to the sheer quantity of empty homes, the third and fourth highest regions are outside of London. In Birmingham there are 13,251 vacant dwellings worth £3.04 billion, while in Leeds 11,861 empty homes have an overall value of £2.85 billion. Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented:  “The UK has long struggled to supply enough properties for renters and aspiring buyers, and one factor that doesn’t help is that hundreds of thousands of homes are left picking up dust. “The problem seems to be especially bad in the North, with Liverpool being one of the worst offenders, while some valuable areas of London are also not being properly utilised. “To improve the issue of vacant properties the government could sink money into another empty homes scheme, or do more to tax those owners who fail to rent out or use their homes.  It’s also fair to assume that with the continued high cost of living and borrowing, coupled with a cooling property market where prices are concerned, we could well see more properties become vacant as the nation’s landlords continue to exit the sector in order to balance their books.” Data tables Data tables and sources can be viewed online, here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals