In the past five years, 22% of homes in Great Britain has upgraded from a D rating or below to a C rating or above.
Sellers who have upgraded the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of their home to a C, from a D, E or F rating have gained as much as 16% extra on average when selling their home, according to Rightmove.
The study analysed over 200,000 homes listed on Rightmove that had sold twice, with an improved EPC rating the second time, to understand the impact of energy efficiency improvements on the final sold price of a home.
Moving from an E to a C gained sellers an extra 8% on average, and moving from a D to a C resulted in an average of 4% extra.
Based on the current national average asking price of property, £344,445, this could mean an additional £55,111 for someone moving from an F to a C rating, £27,556 for someone moving from an E to a C rating, or an extra £13,778 for someone moving from a D to a C rating.
In the past five years, 22% of homes in Great Britain has upgraded from a D rating or below to a C rating or above.
The South East topped the regional list at 26%, followed by Wales (24%) and the East of England (23%).
At a local level, Cardiff leads the way with the biggest proportion of its homes improved from a D rating or below, to a C rating or above in the last five years, with more than a third (35%).
Coventry (34%) came second, and Barry in Wales (33%) came third.
Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove, said: “Ahead of COP26, many people will be more conscious of their personal impact on the planet, and will be looking for ways to be greener, including in their home.
"Although some of the bigger improvements to make homes more energy efficient can be costly, in its latest strategy, the government has outlined ways it wants to support green choices.
"Our study suggests the longer-term value upgrading the rating of your home’s Energy Performance Certificate can have when it comes to the time to sell.
"While this naturally needs to be balanced with the investment needed to improve it, we expect that the energy efficiency of a home will increasingly be a priority for buyers in the next few years, and these initial numbers suggest people are willing to pay an extra premium for a home better designed for the future.”
