We commissioned the 'Greener Homes Attitude Tracker', based on 4,500 UK individuals, to understand how homebuyers, renters and owners feel about greener homes and the importance of environmental features.
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Our key findings for greener homes
Homeowners' appetite for making sustainable improvements to their property increased in the first half of 2024. The green home improvements index that tracks the number of respondents planning to make changes in the next 12 months has rebounded from an average of 20% in H2 2023, the lowest in two years, to 23% in H1 2024.
The outlook for the next decade as a whole has also brightened, with those with sustainability improvement plans rising from an average of 64% to 67% – the highest since H2 2022.
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More homeowners planning green home improvements in the next 12 months
The proportion of homeowners with plans for green home improvements in the next 12 months has risen noticeably from a low point of 19% in final quarter of 2023 to 24% in the three months to June. This is the highest since Q3 2022.
The medium-term outlook has also changed for the better, with the proportion of those with plans for the next 1-5 years ticking up from 31% at the end of last year to 33%.
Upfront costs are the most common barrier to starting green home improvements.
Among the homeowners that don't have plans for sustainable home improvements, around 68% stated that the cost of the work required was a barrier. The next biggest obstacle was the amount of disruption the work would cause (33%).
That said, the proportion of those without plans for green home improvements reporting that the upfront cost was a barrier has fallen in recent months, down to 42% in Q2 2024 from 50% in the three months to March. Fewer homeowners also feel discouraged by the prospect of taking on debt to fund the work (34%, down from 38%).
Data collected in the six months to June showed that electric car charging points and triple-glazed windows were the two features most likely to be included in homeowners' plans for green home improvements in the next 10 years, at around 38% in both cases. For triple-glazing, this represents a noticeable jump from 34% in the second half of 2023. Around 11% of homeowners said they already have them installed, unchanged from H2 2023.
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Our greener homes retrofit project
We teamed up with British Gas and Worcester Bosch to cover the cost of home retrofits for nine of our customers, with co-ordination help from Quidos. We followed our customers through every stage of their retrofit journey - from start to finish - and we're now sharing it all with you.
For those looking to purchase a property in the next 10 years, its cost and location remain far and away the most important factors being considered. The importance of a property's Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating has plateaued in recent years.
Nevertheless, the importance placed on environmental features such as heat pumps, solar panels, EV charging points and water meters has risen in the past 12 months.
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Around 9% of respondents surveyed in the six months to June said they drive either a fully-electric or hybrid vehicle. This is up from approximately 5% in the second half of 2021.
Of all the green lifestyle choices, the most notable increase has been in the regular use of public transport, with around 30% reporting they that they do so in order to reduce their environmental impact, up from 23% in H2 2021.
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The NatWest Home Energy Hub
We’ve launched a one-stop shop to help homeowners create a more energy-efficient home - the NatWest Home Energy Hub:
- Get a free Home Energy Plan tool to help get started.
- Find out about Energy Performance Certificate ratings (EPCs), get tips on managing energy use and how they could reduce costs.
- Discover ways that could improve home energy efficiency online or with a visit from an energy expert at a discounted rate.
- Find out how much any changes could cost and the benefits of energy-efficiency home improvements.
- Connect with experts and trustworthy tradespeople who can do the work.
- Explore various funding options including grants and or find out how NatWest could help.
Download the Greener Homes Attitude Tracker - July 2024
You can download a pdf version of the full report, save and share by using the link below.
Previous reports
The NatWest Greener Homes Attitude Tracker survey was first conducted in May 2021 and is compiled by S&P Global. The survey is based on monthly responses from 1,500 individuals in the UK, with data collected by Ipsos MORI from its panel of respondents aged 18-64. The survey sample reflects the true composition of the population to ensure the accuracy of the survey results.