The UK is now five years into its mission to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and as one of the biggest polluting industries, the property market has a significant role to play.
By embracing digital documentation, digital valuations on the purchase side, and technology-led valuations in the retrofit journey, the valuation industry is already supporting energy efficiency efforts.
As we see an increase in the use of digital solutions across the industry, we’re already seeing a reduction in extensive paperwork and document scanning across the industry. However, in 2024, technological developments such as electronic documentation and desktop valuations can help reduce the need for surveyors to travel to properties, thereby cutting down their travel emissions and boosting efficiency for everyone involved.
Currently, the broader surveying sector still relies heavily on paper, with an average transaction producing 130 documents - this equates to 650g of CO2 - highlighting the significant potential that digitising the valuation process and making the surveying industry more sustainable could have.
We’re already in the midst of change, as digital and desktop valuations continue to develop and evolve through the use of data and become increasingly prevalent across the industry. These developments are expected to help us reduce the carbon footprint for lenders further as a result of fewer physical valuations, whilst simultaneously improving the customer experience.
Legal & General (L&G) was the first to create its Digital Home Survey, a fully digital product that allows a surveyor to conduct their inspection, take relevant photos, and send a report to the client’s device within 48 hours. Whilst streamlined solutions like this help, it doesn’t negate the importance of contact points within the valuations process, and we recommend our surveyors talk to customers before & after the inspection to discuss concerns and findings.
Alongside the valuation of a property, it’s also important for the purchaser of a property to be fully informed on the condition of the house or flat. This means carrying out a full in-person home survey, to get an expert surveyor's advice on any potential added costs that may be incurred later down the line. In time, AI-enabled technology will mean that the home survey process will also be increasingly driven by automated solutions, reducing their carbon footprint.
We see the surveyors of the future working with digital solutions to provide better services for customers - not being replaced by data. With the help of more data and the emergence of these digital solutions, excess paper documentation should become a thing of the past.
A technology-driven survey, conducted by a RICS-qualified surveyor, offers buyers a fast and accurate understanding of the current Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of a potential home. Surveyors can also identify possible retrofit measures that are both environmentally friendly and add real market value to a property. For example, installing an air-source heat pump can raise a home’s value by £5k-£8k alongside adding solar panels that have the potential to increase a property’s sale price by around £1,350-£5,400. When these energy efficiency enhancements are combined, retrofitting could potentially raise a home’s value by an average of £10k.
As we navigate towards the net-zero deadlines set out by the Government, we must prioritise environmentally conscious choices throughout the entire home-buying process. One significant factor of this transition is the incorporation of remote desktop valuations and tech-led surveys, as these are key contributors that can make a difference to the sustainable evolution of surveying businesses.
These innovative approaches not only streamline the surveying process but also significantly reduce the ecological footprint associated with traditional methods, thereby aligning with the larger goal of achieving net-zero emissions.
