It’s been a year since the UK government became the first in the world to pass legislation that could see it become law for every new home built to include a charging point for electric vehicles.
And with electric car ownership going up all the time, some homeowners are now worried that without a charging station, their property could lose value.
A survey by Co-op Insurance found that 39% of people think properties without a home car charging station will lose value moving forwards, while also revealing that only 11% of those asked currently have an EV charging point installed at home.
“We can see that more and more of our policyholders are opting for an electric vehicle,” said Nick Ainsley, head of motor insurance at the Co-op. “So going forward a charge point will be a necessity that house buyers will be looking for when looking to buy a new home.”
Claims like these have led homeowners to ask themselves: could adding an electric car charging point add value to my home? And will the lack of this ‘necessity’ see my house price going down if I don’t install one?
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Let’s look at the facts. A general rule of thumb states that a parking space adds around 5% to a property’s value. With the current average UK house price sitting at £231,855, this adds up to £11.7k – not to be sniffed at. If a parking space is worth almost 12 thousand pounds, how much would one with its own electric vehicle charging station be worth? Industry experts agree that the premium on an EV-ready driveway or parking space will continue to rise in the future – especially if the government goes ahead with its plan to include them as standard in all new-builds.
Will the return on investment be worth it? Let’s look at that figure again: £11.7k. Most home car charging station installations cost considerably less than that, making the investment look all the more attractive. When you combine it with the likely increased premium attached to having a home with an EV charging point, it becomes even more so. Then there’s the fact that, due to the demographics of EV drivers, you are likely to attract a higher standard of buyer (with more budget to spend) should you come to sell your home, because of the types of people who will be looking for a charge point on their list of desirables.
It certainly makes you think. With funding grants available and simple installation from a trusted supplier like Project EV, it could be easier than you think to add value to your property with a home car charging station.