India’s transition towards sustainable housing could improve long-term affordability for homeowners despite the higher upfront cost of green construction, according to a new report by proptech platform Square Yards. The study brings up the point that the green residential projects are generally 3.5-4% higher in cost of construction compared to conventional projects, but can save substantial utility cost of the house in long term use.
Key Highlights
- Green homes cost slightly more initially but significantly reduce household energy and water expenses.
- Square Yards launches Green Living Index to simplify sustainable home comparisons for buyers.
The report indicates that green homes also can save 30-50% of water use and 20-30% in energy costs over the life of the home, providing a significant reduction in costs and better resource use and quality of life.
The results are followed in the context of India's fast-expanding urbanization. By 2050, almost 400 million more people will live in cities and the number of residential buildings in the country is expected to double by 2070. Sustainable housing is becoming an essential part of the future cities development, as it is a sector which has a major contribution in the national GHG emission.
Square Yards Launches Green Living Index
Recognising the need for a common sustainability frame of reference for residential projects, Square Yards has developed a new consumer-focused framework called the Square Yards Green Living Index (SYGLI) that assesses the sustainability, liveability, resilience and long-term performance of residential developments. The index translates sustainability information, regulatory disclosures, developer information and geospatial information into a common score for homebuyers.
"The future of housing is going to be shaped more by the ability of home to respond to the climate, the efficiency of resources and the long-term affordability of the home than its location and amenities", said Tanuj Shori, Founder and CEO of Square Yards.
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Sustainability Emerging as a Core Homebuying Metric
In the report, it is described that people seeking a home are putting greater emphasis on lower utility bills, healthier indoor environments, and resilience to climate change, but are unable to add up to the climate change projects due to the lack of fragmented sustainability information. Because sustainability has a direct impact on long-term affordability and quality of life, it is becoming as important to consider as traditional factors like location, price and amenities, it argues.
There are currently over 19,700 green building projects in India, with over 130 green building projects being net-zero, and a green building footprint of over 16 billion sq.ft. already certified. These projects combine to save billions of litres of water and energy every year, with a significant reduction in carbon emissions. But in contrast with the UK, France, Singapore, and Australia which already have a consumer facing sustainability rating system for residential properties, India still does not have such a system.
The Green Living Index considers four primary categories of a property's performance over time, resource efficiency, health and comfort, safety and resilience, and connectivity, to enable buyers to better understand how a property will perform down the road.
Dr. Priyanka Kochhar, CEO and Co-Founder of The Habitat Enterprise stated, "Sustainability should not be considered merely as an environmental obligation, but also a financial and health concern. In this regard, she added, if sustainability performance can be made visible, measurable and comparable, it could transform the assessment of residential property value in India."
