Today, we joined a webinar about Green Home Mortgages organised by Barclays. The webinar discussed what green home mortgages are, the demand and supply and the future of these types of mortgages. We thought we would share our learnings…
The webinar consisted of Claudia Zambon, Director of Mortgage Products and Erika Moreira Baker, Senior Product Manager, both from Barclays.
What are green home mortgages?
Green mortgages are mortgages with favourable terms for people buying a property that is energy efficient. The mortgage offered usually at a discount rate for new build properties with EPC rating of A or B.
Demand and supply of green mortgages
Claudia and Erika, both explained that there has been a huge increase in supply of green mortgages. There are currently 21 different mortgage providers in the UK that now offer this type of mortgage. The Government’s aim is to build 300,000 new homes every year as part of their five-year strategy. This means that green mortgages for new build properties will be in high demand in the near future.
Barclays, amongst others are now beginning to offer green mortgages for buy-to-let properties. This is mainly due to the Government announcing that landlords will need to increase the EPC rating of their rented properties by 2023.
The above did highlight a slight gap in the market and this is for renovations/home improvements and building eco-homes. These are currently not considered within the green mortgages umbrella but need to be considered in the near future. As an industry, helping retrofit old properties needs to be considered as more and more people are becoming aware that they need to try to enhance the energy efficiency of their ageing properties.
“Lenders will play an important part and we want green mortgages to become more popular. Government policy will play an important role, customer demand and educating customers about the energy efficiency of their homes is also very important. All of which is extremely relevant with the increase in energy bills of late.”
Erica Moreira Baker, Senior Product Manager at Barclays.
If the UK is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, green mortgages will help. The potential is huge to ensure we are building a sustainable future.
For more information or to talk to us about green mortgages, please get in touch.
*Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayment on your mortgage. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Buy to let Mortgages.