PRESS RELEASE: A Third of Britons Fear Extreme Heat Will Hit Their Home Value

One in three British adults fear that extreme heat could hit the value of their home, according to a new More in Common poll.

The national survey showed 33% of residents were ‘concerned’ that rising risks of fire, flash floods, overheating and subsidence, driven by hotter temperatures, could negatively impact the price of their properties over time.

The research, commissioned by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), comes as Britain grapples with severe heat this summer.

More than half of England and the whole of Wales are now in drought conditions. A major wildfire also took hold on Dunwich Heath, Suffolk, last week, covering an area roughly the size of 210 football pitches. This followed a large blaze on Arthur’s Seat, in Edinburgh, earlier in the month.

Other wildfires have been recorded across the South of England during the summer, including in East London and most recently in Shepperton, Surrey, over the weekend.

The nationally weighted poll asked 2852 British adults how ‘concerned or not’ they were that increasingly extreme heat could reduce the value of their home over time through ‘regular overheating, subsidence, flash flooding and increased fire risk.’

Residents in Greater London, which Mayor Sadiq Khan recently said was facing an ‘exceptional’ threat of fire, were the most worried in the country, with 43% ‘concerned’ that their property’s value could be negatively affected by extreme heat.

This was followed by people living in the North West of England, where 36% felt ‘concerned’, and those in the East Midlands, where 35% shared the same view.

Among homeowners with a mortgage, 41% said they were ‘concerned’ that their property’s value could fall due to the impacts of extreme heat.

Climate change and the housing market

Statistics from the Association of British Insurers showed insurance firms paid out £307 million for domestic subsidence claims in 2025, up 10% (£27 million) year on year, the highest amount on record (see here).

This shows the increasing material impact of rising temperatures on the housing sector. But Britain also faces growing financial risks from flooding.

A UKSIF and Public First report demonstrated how the delicate relationship between property insurance and mortgage lending could be ‘threatened’ by the rising severity of this extreme weather (see here).

This is because lenders rely on insurance to safeguard the long-term values of homes from physical damage and signal risk to the market. But more frequent flooding, which will require higher payouts, could force insurers to raise premiums or forgo renewing home coverage altogether.

Those unable to get affordable property insurance may have to accept more expensive default standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages, while paying out of pocket for any further storm damage to their properties. These homes would be hard to sell, as they can’t be mortgaged or remortgaged and are unappealing to cash buyers.

The report warns that flood risks could turn 430,000 households in England into ‘climate mortgage prisoners’ by 2050, who are left with higher mortgage costs and mounting repair bills for homes they will struggle to offload.

In the worst-case scenario, it says market shocks from rising flood events could “cascade through the wider financial system” and pose a risk to the country’s “overall financial stability”.

Comments:

James Alexander, UKSIF CEO, said: “The stark costs of our changing climate are clearly now apparent to many households across the country.

“Whether it’s the threat of flooding or wildfires, the rising frequency of these extreme events has the power to deal a severe financial blow to families and the wider economy.

“The new government must respond to these mounting risks by ensuring that climate adaptation and resilience strategies are firmly built into national policy programmes.

“They must also continue to address the root causes of this extreme weather – by cutting emissions and speeding up our shift to a low-carbon economy.

“Investors will play a vital role in accelerating this response, provided the government delivers robust, long-term policy commitments that are attractive to global capital.”

Notes to Editors

The More in Common poll was conducted from 26 June to 29 June 2026 among 2852. Respondents have been weighted according to age/sex interlocked, region, 2024 General Election vote, ethnicity, and education level. It reflects the population of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland).

The polling question asked: “How concerned or not are you that increasingly extreme heat could reduce the value of your home over time through risks such as regular overheating, subsidence, flash flooding and increased fire risk?”

PRESS RELEASE: Flooding in England Predicted to Create 430,000 ‘Climate Mortgage Prisoners’

About UKSIF:

UKSIF is a leading membership organisation that brings together the country’s sustainable investment and finance community and supports its members to expand, enhance and promote this key sector. Our more than 300 members, who have £19trn in assets under management (AUM), include investment managers, pension funds, banks, financial advisers, research providers and NGOs, among others.

Our members are active in and supportive of efforts to promote the sustainable finance agenda. Together, we work closely with policymakers and others to find new ways to overcome the barriers to the growth of sustainability and deliver progress towards decarbonisation of the economy.