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Today's Property Week offers a crystal ball on 2008. I've been thinking the sector would be completely obsessed with the credit crunch so could potentially lose interest in sustainability, but the experts writing in the magazine suggest otherwise. Four main predictions are made (the articles are subscriber only, I'm afraid):
- Green leases - editor Giles Barrie claims this will become the "buzz term" for 2008. "Landlords will lean on occupiers to help earn a good ranking from energy performance certificates, which will hit the value of a property if sustainability is ignored," he says
- EPCs - King Sturge partner Neville Pritchard says that rental growth prospects will depend on the EPC rating which will lead to a "widening in the gap between prime and secondary investment properties". This will result in developers and speculators focusing on "well-located older buildings where a profit can be made by upgrading an EPC rating and thereby making a secondary building acceptable to prime buyers".
- Offices - Jeremy Richards, from King Sturge again, claims the green agenda will have a big impact on big companies. "Greater consideration will be given to relocation from central London because of the overall carbon footprint created by increased commuting times."
- Data centres - Industrial expert at King Sturge David Brooks claims there will be more demand for them this year. The question clearly is how much clients will drive reduced energy use in new ones.
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