With increased focus on sustainability credentials in the built environment, a new dynamic is forming in relation to those assets considered to be prime and those which are sub-prime. However, as reported by EG Radius, not all sectors of the real estate market are being impacted at the same level.

EG Radius has found that offices are most effected, with high demand from occupiers for energy efficient spaces pushing up prices. There also appears to be an emergence of a preference for retrofitting over new build and it will be interesting to see whether this sparks a market for second hand building materials (reusing materials in their existing form rather than recycling them -  you can read my post on this subject here). At the other end of the spectrum, some retail landlords are struggling to get tenants to focus on the built environment as they are prioritising other, perhaps more cost effective, means of reducing their carbon output throughout their supply chains. But this does mean that there is not such a wide gap in value between sustainable and sub-standard spaces.

At either end of the spectrum, it is expected that failure to improve the environmental credentials of sub-standard assets will result in the value of those assets falling. However, that's not the only reason we should be upgrading our building stock now. Don't we all have a responsibility to do what we can to ensure that the planet remains habitable for generations to come?