Air con can add £20,000 to the value of your home, but good luck trying to find an air-con ready home in the current market

As the nation’s braces for another heatwave, the latest research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that whilst more homes are coming to market with built-in air conditioning, buyers still face a tough task in securing one, with air-conditioned homes accounting for just 2% of all homes currently listed for sale across England. However, homeowners considering installing air conditioning could add more than £20,000 to the value of their property even once the cost of implementation has been accounted for.

Following record-breaking temperatures across much of the UK during June, and with another heatwave on the way, it’s no surprise that homeowners have been driving up sales for air conditioning.

However, Benham and Reeves analysed current for-sale stock across England and found that those homebuyers with hopes of securing an air-con ready home may struggle to do so.

The analysis shows that homes already equipped with air conditioning account for just 2% of all homes currently listed for sale across the market – up marginally (+0.7%) versus a year ago. In London, availability improves, but only marginally, with air-conditioned homes accounting for 3% of all properties currently on the market – highlighting just how uncommon the feature remains across the nation’s housing stock.

With climate experts warning that heatwaves are likely to become both more frequent and more intense in the years ahead, Benham and Reeves also examined whether installing air conditioning represents a worthwhile investment for homeowners.

The research shows that installing a wall-mounted air conditioning unit in a single room costs an estimated £1,900. However, it’s also estimated to increase a property’s value by around 2.5%, equivalent to almost £7,000 based on the current average UK house price.

As a result, once installation costs are deducted, homeowners could still see an uplift in value of just over £5,000. Should they decide to roll out this improvement across four rooms of their home, that’s a potential £20,000 added to the value of their home.

Marc von Grundherr, Director of Benham and Reeves, commented:

“The reality is that our homes simply weren’t designed to cope with the kind of temperatures we’ve experienced in recent summers and, with heatwaves becoming both more frequent and more fierce, it’s no surprise that more homeowners are looking to air conditioning as a long-term solution.

The bad news is that only a very small proportion of homes currently on the market offer the benefit of built in air conditioning However, the good news is that installing built-in air conditioning to your own home can prove to be a worthwhile investment, not only making your home considerably more comfortable during a heatwave, but also adding value should you decide to sell.

From a rental perspective, we’ve also found that homes with built-in air conditioning can command around 15% higher rents on average and, during the hottest periods of the year when demand peaks, we’ve seen premiums reach as much as 20%.

In fact, we recently agreed a tenancy where the tenant was so keen to secure air conditioning that they offered to fund the installation themselves in exchange for a longer-term tenancy, demonstrating just how important the feature has become.

We’re also seeing this influence investment decisions. One of our developer clients will now only purchase buildings where air conditioning can be installed, obtaining planning certainty before exchanging contracts. Of the 60 buildings they have acquired across central London, only five couldn’t accommodate air conditioning and, perhaps unsurprisingly, those are the only ones that remain unsold so far.”