Property investors increasingly turn to green real estate
There is growing interest in energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly real estate in Britain among property investors, even if few expect to see an immediate profit from “greening” their buildings. Thomas Beyerle of Aberdeen Property Investors told the Financial Times that there is “no evidence” that green real estate will lead to tactile benefits for investors, but many are still choosing to go this route purely out of concern for the planet. Yet one consideration which may convince many in the property and buy-to-let sectors to “go green” is that buildings account for 40 percent of all carbon emissions and future government regulations aimed at carbon reduction may adversely impact owners of less energy-efficient properties. William Hill, a property expert at Schroders, noted that market prices have yet to calculate this risk of punitive and costly regulations when it comes to older, less environmentally-friendly real estate. But Schroders property portfolio management is already taking into account the fact that such punitive regulation is likely.
Only 2 percent of properties in the UK are under five years in age, and the majority are not yet energy efficient. Late last year, some observers raised concern over the fact that a long list of British cities are dominated by inefficient buildings constructed in the early post World War II period, which will likely become a topic of concern for increasingly environmentally conscious governments. Glenn Corney, associated with the Investment Property Databank, observed that even if going green may not yet increase a property’s real value by significant proportions, it does help in its marketability. Additionally, those landlords who do invest in making their properties more energy efficient are doing so in the hope of gaining a long-term advantage over their competitors.