8 ways to tell if your home is winning the value race
We’re not saying it’s a competition. But you might be winning. Want to know if your home’s gaining value faster than a mate's?
House prices have shot up at rates unseen since 2006 in the last two years. In April, the UK’s average house price reached £250,000 for the first time ever.
But not all homes and areas are equal.
Keen to find out if yours is a hot property?
Here are seven ways to tell if your place is winning in the house price race.
1. Keep an eye on their home
It’s not stalking. It’s keeping an eye on the market.
At Zoopla, you can get track any home to get the latest price estimate.
And you can see how its estimate has changed over the last two years.
Track as many homes as you like, any time you like, for as long as you like.
And we’ll send you the new price estimate every month.
Job done.
2. Track your home
Be proud. It’s yours and you love it. You might have put a lot of work into it.
And you must be wondering how your bricks and mortar is performing in value.
And if your area's on the up? And if everyone wants a property like yours?
So tell us you own it.
We’ll show you the rest.
3. See what’s for sale nearby
Who doesn’t love a little nosy around the neighbours’ house?
Well, we can do better than that.
We can let you know the asking price of any home that comes up for sale in your area.
Or if they’re not for sale, we’ll show you what they last sold for. Whether it was last week or last decade.
After all, it just provides a good benchmark for yours, right?
4. Keep up with the housing market
It’s good to have a feel for what’s right when it comes to property.
The more you get to know the market, the more your instincts will take over when it comes to knowing what a home’s worth.
There’s no secret to it. It’s just about staying in the loop.
It’s a snapshot of what’s going on across the country. You’ll be a property expert in no time.
5. Find out what improvements they’ve made
As you run your fingers over their new marble kitchen worktops, you might be wondering how much value that work has added.
But what really ups the price of a home? A landscaped garden, a brand new bathroom or a kitchen extension?
6. Eye up their kerb appeal
A home that looks great from the outside could really give it the edge in the house price race.
It’s all down to that first impression.
But who’s dressed to impress, and who’s left dead in the water?
7. Suss out their home’s style
Major developers don’t get interior designers to stage their homes for nothing.
Stylish decor is thought to add up to 10% to a home’s value.
A few tweaks could help you edge ahead in the house price stakes.
8. Get an estate agent’s opinion
If you want to know exactly what your home’s worth, there’s only one way to know for sure.
We’ve got loads for you to choose from, and they’ll know your local market like the back of their hand.
They might even be able to choose a winner.
6 ways to make your house a smart home
Smart home tech can help you save time, money and energy – plus it can add value to your home. Here's how to turn your house into a smart home.
45% of people in the UK already have smart home technology. And it’s expected to hit nearly 85% by 2026, according to Statista.
It’s not going away any time soon. But is smart tech really all it’s hyped up to be?
Let’s take a look at the benefits of smart home tech and how you can turn your house into a smart home.
First of all, what is a smart home?
A smart home is a house with electrical items that are connected to the internet. They’re all linked up to your phone and each other through Wi-Fi, 4G or Bluetooth.
This means you can control appliances and monitor usage through your phone.
As well as switching things on and off, you can set schedules and triggers for a group of connected devices.
So you could set your smart speaker to recognise “Good morning”, and it would get the coffee brewing and your favourite radio station playing. All before you get out of bed.
Or you could set the oven to warm up and the heating to come on when you leave work. It’ll be all ready for you when you get home.
Smart home appliances all come together to help you save time, energy and money.
What are the benefits of a smart home?
1. Smart tech helps you save on energy
You might be looking to reduce your impact on the environment or keep your energy bills down.
Smart devices can help you save energy by turning appliances on and off as you need them.
It won't matter if you forget to turn the lights or heating off when you leave the house. You can just do it on your phone instead.
2. It can help keep your home safe and secure
Keeping your home safe and secure is a great benefit of smart technology.
You can keep an eye on things while you’re away and set triggers to deter burglars.
Surveillance cameras can ping you if they detect movement outside your home.
You can run smoke and CO2 detectors from your phone too.
3. It's convenient
A lot of people like smart home technology because it makes life easier.
You can set appliances to turn on and off in line with your daily routine. And change their schedule just as your plans change.
4. Smart tech can add value to your home
A home with integrated smart tech will often have a higher value than a similar non-smart home.
Many buyers are looking for more convenient ways to live, and smart home integration does just that.
Energy efficiency is also high on the list for buyers, and smart homes can help keep energy usage to a minimum.
6 ways to make your house a smart home
1. Choose your smart ecosystem
The smart ecosystem lays the foundations for your smart home.
Think of it as the network for your smart devices and appliances. If they’re all designed to work on the same network, they’ll work better together.
Apple, Google and Amazon are behind the three main ecosystems at the moment. They all have similar features, so it’s down to personal preference.
Keep in mind that most smart devices are designed for a particular ecosystem. It’s not always easy (or possible) to use a device designed for Apple as part of an Amazon ecosystem.
2. A smart speaker
The next thing you’ll want to get is a smart speaker.
A smart speaker means you can control all smart aspects of your home with your voice.
Choose the speaker that fits with your ecosystem – so Alexa for Amazon, Google Nest for Google or Apple HomePod for Apple.
You can then turn things on and off with just a word or phrase.
Or you can then set up rules to trigger multiple actions from your speaker at one time.
3. Smart plugs
Smart plugs are an easy and affordable way to make your home smart, without buying loads of new appliances.
A smart plug can turn an ordinary lamp, coffee machine or TV into a smart appliance. Once they’re plugged in, you control them from your phone or speaker.
Just like smart appliances, you can schedule smart plugs to turn on and off with your schedule.
You can label your smart plugs too. So if you ask Alexa to turn the kettle on, it’ll know which plug you’re talking about.
4. A smart heating system
A smart heating system is one of the best choices to save on energy bills.
86 per cent of users claimed a smart meter has helped them reduce their spending, according to The Coexperts.
You connect your phone to the smart thermostat and get total control over your heating.
Some smart heating systems can work off the GPS location of your phone. So it could tell when you’re nearly home and turn the heating on for you.
Or it could detect when you leave the house and automatically turn the heating off and save you energy.
Smart heating systems can also give advice on how you can use less energy. They can suggest automations to help you manage your home’s temperature.
5. Smart lighting
Smart light bulbs are another popular smart home product.
Smart light bulbs are very energy efficient and they’re fairly easy to install.
You replace your normal light bulbs with smart ones and connect them to your smart ecosystem.
The cheapest smart light bulbs will allow you to control the lights from your phone. You can set rules to turn them off as you leave the house or when it’s time for bed.
More expensive versions change colour or connect to your TV. If connected to a TV, smart lighting can automatically match the mood of a film or programme you’re watching.
6. A smart security system
Smart cameras are a great way to boost the security of your home. They can also make sure you don’t miss deliveries.
A video doorbell is a popular and easy to use option. It uses a camera to pick up if someone’s outside your house.
A livestream from the camera then feeds through to your phone.
If security's a concern for you, you can add more features to a smart security system. You could incorporate motion sensors around your home and garden, as well as sirens and door and gate locks.
A local estate agent can give you the most accurate estimate of your home’s value.
If you’ve got smart home tech – or are thinking about adding it – they can let you know how it changes your home's value.
Key takeaways
- Smart home technology can make your home safe, secure and energy efficient
- You can control appliances and energy usage through your phone
- Choose a smart home ecosystem and smart speaker to lay the foundations for your smart home
- Add smart appliances or just start with smart plugs to turn ordinary items into smart ones
7 ways to improve your home's EPC rating
Rising energy bills and a hunger for greener living mean a good EPC rating is now more important than ever. Here’s how to get one for your home.
An Energy Performance Certificate (or EPC) rating is essentially a review of a property’s ability to use energy efficiently.
All homes must have an EPC certificate when being sold or made available for rent.
The certificate is valid for 10 years.
What’s a good EPC rating?
An EPC certificate rates a property’s energy performance through a grading system of A to G, with A being the most efficient and G being the least.
A property with an EPC rating of C or above is generally thought to be pretty good. The average home in the UK has a rating of D.
New-build homes generally have higher scores, as they tend to be around 60% more energy efficient than older homes.
Buildings with higher EPC ratings are more popular with buyers and renters, especially in today’s climate of astronomically growing energy costs, as they’re cheaper to run.
From December 31, 2025, all landlords must make sure the buildings they are letting out to tenants carry an EPC rating of C or above.
You can find out the EPC rating of every property listed for sale or for rent on Zoopla on our listings pages.
Or, if you’re interested in a property that’s not currently on the market, you can find out their EPC rating through the government’s website.
How is an EPC rating decided?
An EPC rating is carried out by a government-approved energy assessor.
They look into the amount of energy a home uses per square metre and how much carbon dioxide it produces.
The average household produces 6 tonnes of CO2 annually.
The assessor conducts a measured survey of the property, examining the lighting, heating and hot water systems.
The certificate they produce then shows the current costs for running the home - and the potential costs if the assessor’s recommended energy-saving improvements are made.
It will also show the property’s overall rating from grades A to G.
What factors affect an EPC rating?
The assessor will look at whether the home has:
- energy efficient bulbs
- double glazed windows
- an energy efficient boiler
- thermostats for the home and individual radiators
- log, coal or gas fires
- loft and wall insulation
- pipes and water tank insulation
- renewable energy sources such as solar panels
- air/ground source heat pumps
- water-saving systems - such as dual-flush loos
How can I improve my EPC rating?
1. Use energy efficient light bulbs
They can cut lighting costs by up to 90%, so are well worth the investment.
2. Insulate your loft
It will help to prevent up to 25% of your heating escaping through the roof.
3. Consider cavity wall insulation
It can help to stop 35% of your heating from leaving your home and only takes a couple of hours to install.
Holes are drilled into the external walls of your property and insulation is injected into the cavity.
4. Replace your old boiler with an energy efficient new one
It could make a drastic difference to your fuel bills - and your EPC rating.
5. Invest in double or triple glazed windows
6. Seal any draughty parts of the house
Including floorboards, around windows and the front door.
7. Consider using an environmentally-friendly air/ground source heat pump
Is there financial help available to improve my EPC rating?
Yes, there is.
Energy companies will pay for insulation, glazing and even new boilers for people claiming certain benefits under the Energy Company Obligation scheme.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers property owners £5,000 towards the cost of buying and installing an air source heat pump or biomass boiler.
Grants averaging £10,000 are also available to certain households to make energy efficiency improvements under the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme.
Can I change my EPC rating?
If you think your EPC rating is wrong, you can contact the assessor who gave the home its rating.
Their name will be on the EPC certificate that was issued for the property.
You can ask them to reassess the property based on where you think the errors might have been made.
If you’re still concerned that an error has been made, you can appeal to the assessor’s accreditation scheme. The details for this can also be found on the EPC.
The rising cost of energy
In April this year, the energy price cap increased by 54%, meaning a typical household’s energy bills went up by around £700 a year from £1,300 to £2,000.
In October that price cap is set to rise again, taking the average household’s energy bills to just under £3,000.
After October, Ofgem is set to change the price cap every three months and bills are expected to remain high until October 2023.
Ensuring your home is as energy efficient as possible is now more important than ever, whether you’re looking sell, rent or stay put.
A few improvements now could save you hundreds of pounds in the long run.
Key takeaways
- Energy efficient light bulbs, double glazing and a decent boiler can all improve a home's EPC rating
- Insulation, thermostats and dual flush loos also help
- In October this year, the energy price cap will rise to just under £3,000. So anything you can do to improve your home's energy efficiency now is worth doing