Research from Landmark Information Group has identified a dramatic shift in buyer sentiment surrounding climate change, with 99% of property professionals surveyed for the research reporting rising concern amongst buyers.
In the survey of 150 conveyancers, estate agents and mortgage lenders, 99% said clients are concerned about the impact of climate change when buying a property, up from 72% last year. More than half of the conveyancers surveyed (55%) said they are advising clients on potential future climate risks to property.
For the first time, heat stress (62%) and energy performance (65%) have overtaken flooding (51%) as the most urgent client concerns, which Landmark says reflects a shift towards risks that affect all properties, not just those in flood-prone areas.
‘Our latest research shows climate change has moved firmly into the mainstream of homebuying concerns’, said group sustainability director Chris Loaring.
“An overwhelming 99% of property professionals report their clients are worried about its impact – a jump of 27 percentage points in just a year. This shift is no longer hypothetical; we’re seeing real consequences in the market, from stalled transactions to challenges securing mortgages or insurance.”
Conveyancers in particular fear the impact of a negative future climate change risk report on a property, either as transactions stall due to the purchaser changing their mind (38%), a subsequent inability to get either a mortgage (24%) or insurance cover (20%).
Loaring added:
“Conveyancers, who are closest to the purchase process, are detecting the highest levels of concern, with two-thirds of their clients highly engaged on the issue. It’s clear that climate resilience is now a defining factor in property decisions, and the industry must be ready to respond.”
The survey also found a growing appetite for earlier climate risk disclosure, with over half of respondents (51% – up from 45% in 2024) believing risks should be reported by the estate agent before conveyancing or a mortgage review begins.
‘However, despite universal concern, there is still no consensus on who should take ultimate responsibility for advising buyers on climate risk’, Landmark noted.
“Most favour environmental specialists, but significant numbers see a role for estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors, or a combination of all three.”
According to the conveyancers surveyed for the report, the biggest barrier to property industry readiness on climate risk is a lack of clear regulation, followed by uncertainty about responsibility.
5 responses
Members of the public, if we are believe the results of this survey, are increasingly desperate to know about climate change risk. However, in the real world clients couldn’t care less, and instead want to know what fixtures are included in a purchase, or have their been any disputes with neighbours or what outgoings are payable.
Many experienced property lawyers feel let down by their professional bodies for allowing this dubious narrative to get this far.
A toxic combination of jurisprudence and regulatory rules means that their is no middle course to be taken by lawyers on advising on climate risk and so it should in my opinion be routinely excluded from a property’s lawyer retainer at the outset.
Minds brighter than mind have made it clear to me that climate change risk reports are little more than AI generated fantasies.
I simply don’t believe this survey – 99% of conveyancers said that their clients were worried?
In the hundreds of transaction I do every year (high street firm), I have never been asked about it and neither have any of my colleagues.
I would be interested if any conveyancers are able to say that they have.
what a joke
i see all my clients on a purchase about 10 on an average week . despite advising what the EPC could show i have made since shortly after EPC imposition and still make a comment every time we reach the spif question re the EPC :-
“if you are buying this property based upon the EPC rating , congratulations ! you are the first person i have met doing so”
as the the comment implies i have yet to meet such a client. very few have even looked at it and none have said it has affected their decision to purchase at all.
lots however do comment it is just another expense when they come to sell their property
Landmark trying to boost their sales again. People will buy homes even if you told them it would fall off a cliff in 50 years. People will buy newbuild homes because it looks all shiny and new, yet Noah hasn’t built another ark yet and so it will be swept away with the next biblical flood. But oh no, blame the conveyancer as their crystal ball didn’t predict it. Yet more skewed marketing – bet the questions were framed in such a way as to elicit the response required. In court you would say “objection your honour, Counsel is leading the witness”!
What a load of baloney. I have never been asked a question about climate change, the environmental search (now including the future climate risk analysis), an EPC, green, deal, flood risk or anything remotely to do with environmental matters. This is all despite sending a comprehensive report on every purchase in thousands of purchases over years and years.
I have seen flood risk reports state low flood risk, but with local knowledge certain country roads adjacent to the property are impassable during certain prolonged periods of rain.