Do you think energy bills will impact demand for bigger homes?

[jellywobble22]

Just had my Gas & Electric come through for November and I am paying 50% more than I was last year even though I have been much more frugal with usage.

Do people think that the impact of higher energy bills will impact demand for bigger homes which naturally cost more to heat? Will this lead to people wanting to downsize (as opposed to upsizing we saw amidst C19 which led to detached house price growth outpacing semis / terraces)? Also will people put more emphasis on EPC ratings?

We are moving from a 3 bed smaller link detached with draughty windows that is expensive to hear to a 4 bed townhouse which we are hoping is going to helo
us bring our bills down

If you do make space for a log burner it's is so warm in our open plan space when it's on.

I think the trend for one open plan space in smaller houses will go, we have the kitchen dinner and lounge as one space with a separate snug. The central heating thermostats are separate (nest) we just let the kitchen get colder if we are cooking or not sat in it and heat the rest of the house. If we want to sit in there I.e. a weekend we light the fire. It was always intended to be a summer space with the doors open to the garden whilst the snug at the front is about winter and cozy days. I can't imagine down sizing in fact DH is already looking for the next project which he wants to be Georgian or art deco 😬.

Our bills with the £66 off are cheaper than last year. We are hoping to have ground source coils drilled early next year 🤞🏻 with solar in the summer it means even with the hot tub we don't really pay for electric and have so far spent £56 on electric since 23rd November.

Hopefully the increase in costs will lead to more people investing in green measures (yes I know the log burner isn't green but I love it).

From an observation point our friends in jobs the lead to the really big Victorian houses aren't bothered. They have put up business prices to cover the short fall or have got significant pay rises through promotion or retention schemes. It the identikit 3/4 bedroom detached house I think people will struggle to sell right now as tho who can just about afford them will think twice

Older houses will probably lose value, we have a 1930s detached and fully expecting it to lose quite a bit of value over the next 10 years, fortunately we didn't pay very much for it in the first place but I wouldn't buy one now as they are hard to bring up to a good state of insulation.

Well I was hoping our 3 bed end of terrace house would appeal to people upsizing from a flat and empty nesters downsizing from a much bigger family home. So far, we've only had viewings from people looking to upsize or first time buyers. Maybe it will change after winter when people see their bills.

I think it has more to do with energy efficiency than size.

I think as PP said it will be older properties rather than bigger properties. Im in Scotland in a 4 bed detached which is15 years old, during last weeks cold snap of minus 8 here, our combined gas and electricity was £ 10 per day with GCH on all day as I was WFH. lights from 3pm, oven, 2 tvs etc.

I didnt think in the current crappy utility cost crisis that was too bad.

We upsized from a 3 bed semi which was in desperate need of renovation to a 4 bed detached which is 10 years old.

Thankfully it's not open plan, and we have hive so only heat what we need. I think this month is my highest bill and will probably hit £200. Last house wasnt hive and I spent £100 a month so granted not insane difference given this house is vastly bigger.

But I'm concerned about what will happen in April and were we still in the old house and looking at buying now we never would have moved.

How old is it? Do you have solid walls?

There was an interesting article (think in the Times) how the classic 3 bed family house will become even more popular. Families trying to upsize will be fighting with older people downsizing.

I think it’ll impact on sales of older houses. I live in an old house now, and dreamed of moving to a bigger period property in a countryside village. For the first time ever I’m considering a smaller, more modern house or flat, maybe even city centre brand new, when the kids leave home.

I’d rather live in a detached house and tough it out for the times when it’s cold,rather than listen to the neighbours tv all night through the walls …currently 17c in here and the heatings only set to 15c ? Not sure how that’s happening 😀

There’s just no magic that will make my single brick wall home energy efficient. Am I going to downsize when I already don’t have enough space? I am much more likely to use YouTube and build my own Turbine in my garden. Or someone else will come along and do it. Or I’ll move somewhere warm altogether.

We live in a middle terrace Victorian
Old radiators that get piping hot compared to the new ones
Our house heats up really well and we pay half what others are paying on here (smaller house) so it's not always the older houses
My parents have a five bed detached new build and it's always freezing at £20 a day

We have been thinking about upsizing for the past couple of years and also wanted to move to an older property with more character. However our house at the moment is very energy efficient and holds heat well so I think we’ll stay put a while longer. Also I’ve been bemoaning the fact that we don’t have a big kitchen diner (we have a breakfast kitchen and separate dining room) but at least smaller contained rooms are easier to heat.

Absolutely think it will impact sales, last year we sold our 4 bed detached for a 3 bed semi and our bills have halved. Our old gas and electric bill last year was c£220, it’s now £60 electric and an oil tank that costs £500 to fill up which will last the year! We’re early 30’s no children but couldn’t be happier with the move.

Bigger more expensive homes are however more likely to have extra insulation, solar panels with batteries, wood burners with room for wood storage, triple glazing, updated boilers etc.

I've never seen the appeal in large houses tbh. I can only see them as pure status symbols. Especially the inherited country seats of the aristocracy. I can't imagine why any average sized family needs a mansion (looking at Edward and Sophie Wessex + 2 children in a 120 room mansion on 50 acres in Surrey).

Empty rooms doing nothing all the time ... just why? It's crazy. And awful at the same time.

My DD’s 4 bed 1990’s detached house isn’t much more expensive to run than our 1970’s 3 bed semi, it’s not open plan which helps, one of her stipulations when house hunting was separate rooms downstairs. The mortgage rate increases will hit them hard though, they come off a fix in April, hopefully the increased equity will help a bit.

I'd be a little wary of EPC ratings. We're currently renting a 4 bed townhouse, 20 years old, with an EPC of C. It's a temporary move whilst we renovate the house we're buying.

The double glazing is poor quality so you can hear every word of conversations outside even with the windows closed. It's really cold near every window - it's really miserable.

Our previous detached house was much better as properly insulated and had good quality double glazing.

I see lots of houses for sale with ‘glass box’ extensions, They must cost a fortune to heat. Our conservatory is only 5 years old and freezing, even with a radiator fitted, proper glass roof, solid kingspan insulation under the floor and in the walls, we built it ourselves.

Although I had to go to auction and suffered a great loss in the price I'd achieve, I'm glad I sold my Listed II 5 bed railway station. The house was 264 sq m, single glazed, and had a cellar the whole length of the ground floor.

I used to buy 600L of oil per month, 200L for the Aga and 400L for the central heating. I also bought three dumpy bags of kiln dried wood for the wood burner which I had to keep going all day in severe weather, just to have one warm room. I also lit the coal fire occasionally when it was minus temperatures. If I was still there I wouldn't have had any money left for food, it would have been heat or eat.

We have one of these but with a proper roof with tiles on it. It doesn't lose heat anymore. You can have a roof put on for a few grand and it's definitely worth it (or was in our case)

Yes, roofing the conservatory is on the list.