realcommercial.com.au's UK Property Partner
propertyfinder.com is a UK property portal which has over 1.5 million* unique visitors every month. The website lists over 350,000** properties from just under 4,000** UK estate agencies. Established in 1995, propertyfinder.com has been servicing the property industry for many years and is independent of the major estate agency groups, ensuring equal access to the internet for all agents. Propertyfinder.com provides a medium for estate agents to advertise their properties on the internet and for potential buyers to search for their ideal home.
Source: *Omniture SiteCatalyst October 2007; **propertyfinder.com Internal Statistics October 2007
propertyfinder.com Website
propertyfinder.com Press Release
Home buyers miscalculate value of energy efficiency
Home buyers could save the equivalent of 0.6% off their mortgage by buying a home with the best modern standards in energy efficiency, but they don't know it, according to research by propertyfinder.com.
propertyfinder.com asked 1013 home buyers to rank how important to their decisions major household expenses were when choosing a home. Energy efficiency ranked fourth out of five key factors. Only the cost of a parking permit ranked lower on average. However, given that approximately two thirds of homes have their own private parking, for most people, the energy costs ranked effectively bottom. See Table below
| Cost Factor | Ranking |
| Council Tax | 1 |
| Commuting Costs | 1 |
| Insurance Costs | 3 |
| Energy Efficiency | 4 |
| Cost of Parking Permit | 5 |
On average, respondents believed that bringing a typical three bedroom house up to modern new-build energy efficiency standards would save £286 per year in energy costs. In fact the saving* that a typical house could make would be £800, equivalent to more than 0.6% on an interest-only mortgage of £125,000. When propertyfinder.com revealed the extent of the potential saving and asked the question again, energy efficiency shot to the top of the ranking. See table below.
| Cost Factor | Ranking |
| Energy Efficiency | 1 |
| Council Tax | 2 |
| Commuting Costs | 3 |
| Insurance Costs | 4 |
| Cost of Parking Permit | 5 |
Warren Bright, chief executive of propertyfinder.com said: Home buyers often don't consider the non-mortgage costs they incur when they buy a home. Emotional factors take precedence such that seemingly mundane matters like energy bills are forgotten. But the best standards in energy efficiency would save a typical home buyer more than the combined impact of the last two Bank of England rate hikes.
With mortgage costs being squeezed higher, it is especially important that buyers ensure they have considered their finances properly.
For those whose purchase is undeterred by high energy costs, improving the energy efficiency of the home once they move in is another option. In a separate survey, an overwhelming 75% of respondents cited the savings they could make on their fuel bills as a factor which would encourage them to make their homes more energy efficient. A comparatively low 49% of respondents said that they would be motivated by concern for the environment. But again, they often make the wrong choices, opting for more expensive solutions that save less money.
For example, the time taken to recover installation costs for under-floor insulation is significantly less than that for loft insulation. Assuming they are professionally installed, the cost recovery times are 2-3 and 4-6 years respectively. However, just 22% of respondents have under-floor insulation, compared to an overwhelming 84% with loft insulation.
Warren Bright, chief executive of propertyfinder.com said: It is evident that energy efficiency is an increasing consideration among homeowners, with saving money a priority. Most people already take advantage of double-glazing, loft and boiler insulation - which generate some savings - yet few are taking advantage of the lesser-known measures. For example, cavity wall and under-floor insulation as well as condensing boilers can generate much greater savings on fuel bills.
propertyfinder.com Statistics
| Unique Browsers | 1,567,617* |
| Page Impressions | 26,337,636* |
| Unique Browser Frequency per Month | 1.28* |
Source:*Omniture SiteCatalyst October 2007
Statistics for the United Kingdom
Average Web Usage in the UK October 2007
| Sessions / Visits Per Person | 45** |
| Domains Visited Per Person | 79** |
| PC Time Per Person | 50:26:53** |
| Duration of a Web Page Viewed | 00:00:51** |
| Active Digital Media Universe | 39,428,296** |
Source:** Nielsen//Netratings October 2007 Work and Home Panel Data
Property related searches on propertyfinder.com
| Estate Agency | Searches |
| townsend estate agents | 4412 |
| wirral estate agents | 2237 |
| Next2Buy | 1598 |
| Brown Co estate agents | 1330 |
| marshalls estate agents | 1115 |
| priory estate agents | 1049 |
| ashington estate agents | 795 |
| regal estate agents | 647 |
| sanderson estate agents | 560 |
| blakes estate agents | 295 |
propertyfinder.com Contact Information
propertyfinder.com
Level 2 Union House
182 – 194 Union Street
London SE1 0LH
Telephone: 08700 75 8888
www.propertyfinder.com
To advertise email propertyfinder.com sales@propertyfinder.com or call 08700 75 8888
UK Region Property Searches on propertyfinder.com