Tomorrow’s world

With the arrival of EPCs alongside the constant stress on developers and companies to be more eco-friendly, more environmentally aware and more cost effective, Britian is likely to see commercial property step-up its game, so to speak. But what does this mean?

Obviously making properties more green can only mean good things for the state of the planet, but will this equate to heightened difficulty in actually getting into the property market? It’s hard to speculate, but one thing landlords, renting out buildings will have a stricter, more intense criteria to adhere to. Better public buildings could well be a reality in the near future – fewer casual occupiers of business properties with high initial capital but without the intellectual capital to match. Are we likely to see fewer eyesore buildings littering our skylines, that have been abandoned by their occupiers? “Hopefully” is the collective chant.

The ‘broken window theory’ is still prevalent in contemporary society. As soon as one run-down property emerges in a specific locale, falling into disrepair and receiving little attention from the government, the surrounding areas are likely to follow suit. Are we to assume that if buildings are presented with a rating of ‘excellent’ for their carbon footprint, landlords can justifiably charge higher rents? Or will any properties which fall anything short of this standard be forced to upgrade themselves or else risk losing revenue from an ever-demanding market?

Mixed signals could be sent to those looking to get into a property, and also those already in properties. For those looking to invest, could properties which were once on their radars be out of reach now, or should they start looking at more attractive places? Will existing residents be forced to upgrade? However, with these questions at the forefront of our minds, this could potentially mean that occupiers will now attach greater value to their residence considering there is a much higher level of capital involved.

With a bit of luck, over the next few years, we could see urban areas – which were once considered undesirable – hitting the top of wish lists for business locations – a great indication for the British economy and something for businesses to consider on a nationwide scale.

Of course, at this time, there is also the credit crunch and the US sub-prime crisis to consider. It has been suggested that Britain could well feel the effects of events occurring in the US property market very soon, although so far, commercial property has fared reasonably well throughout the crisis. Investing in a high-quality, commercial property could be a very wise decision, if you are able to brave the horror stories that will inevitably be coming our way soon.
With the arrival of EPCs and the general attitude of Britain becoming more environmentally aware, we could be seeing a high calibre of commercial residents in addition to fewer derelict commercial buildings on our horizons – just in time for the 2012 Olympics.