Does a C-or-better EPC sell for more in CO4 6 (Colchester)?
Too few comparable sales here for a reliable like-for-like figure. In postcode sector CO4 6 (Colchester), comparing like with like — same floor area, property type, build period and year of sale — there are too few comparable sales in each group for a reliable figure; for district CO4 as a whole the like-for-like difference is −1.7% (95% range −2.7% to −0.7%). The raw gap is bigger: C+ homes sold for 39% less per square metre than D–G homes (median £3,427 vs £5,575, 1,697 sales 2016–2026), mostly because they are different homes. Across England and Wales the like-for-like figure is +1.2%. Data: HM Land Registry Price Paid to 30 September 2026 matched to the EPC register.
From the raw gap to like-for-like
The homes are not alike: C+ homes here have a median floor area of 94 m² against 95 m² for D–G; both groups are most often built in 2012 or later; 66% of C+ and 10% of D–G sales are detached or semi-detached houses.
This sector has fewer than 150 matched sales, fewer than 30 in one group, or an estimate too imprecise or implausibly large to trust, so the like-for-like comparison is not shown; the district figure is above.
Sold prices by EPC band in CO4 6
| EPC band (last certificate before sale) | Sales | Median £ per m² |
|---|---|---|
| B | 1,638 | £3,431 |
| C | 49 | £3,273 |
| D | 10 | £5,575 |
A median is shown when a band has at least 10 sales.
C or better vs D–G, by property type
| Type | C+ sales | C+ £/m² | D–G sales | D–G £/m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | 686 | £3,478 | 0 | — |
| Semi-detached | 429 | £3,457 | 1 | — |
| Terraced | 328 | £3,386 | 9 | — |
| Flat / maisonette | 244 | £3,232 | 0 | — |
Compared with the wider area
| Area | Sales | Like-for-like | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sector CO4 6 | 1,697 | too few | — |
| District CO4 | 9,340 | −1.7% | −2.7% to −0.7% |
| England and Wales | 1,000,000 (sample) | +1.2% | +0.9% to +1.5% |
Average gas use in CO4 6 (2024): meters vs certificates
A rough comparison: the certificate figure is an upper-bound estimate (primary energy including lighting, converted with one factor), so treat the share as an order of magnitude.
| Postcodes with published gas data (5+ meters) | 78 (1,777 meters) |
|---|---|
| Median gas use per meter (median of postcodes) | 7,802 kWh |
| Gas-heated homes with an EPC | 1,863 |
| Energy implied by their certificates (median) | 7,341 kWh |
| Metered gas as a share of the certificate figure (median of 78 postcodes) | 101% (middle half 92%–112%) |
Certificates by band imply: B 7,325 kWh (1,763 homes) · C 7,301 kWh (92 homes). Across England and Wales, real use is much closer to the certificate for A–C homes than for D–G homes, so the saving an upgrade promises is usually smaller than the certificate suggests.
Certificate energy = primary energy per m² × floor area ÷ 1.13, for homes whose latest certificate shows mains gas heating; it also covers lighting and other uses, so it is an upper bound for gas. DESNZ gas is weather-corrected and covers all meters in the postcode, with or without a certificate.
1,697 of 1,708 house and flat sales in the sector since 2015 (99%) were matched to a certificate.
How this is calculated
- Every standard sale (HM Land Registry Price Paid, category A) since January 2015 is matched to the latest energy certificate of the same address (postcode + house number or name + flat) lodged from 10 years before to 3 months after the sale; sales with no certificate or an ambiguous match are left out. Across England and Wales 92% of sales match.
- Price per m² uses the certificate's total floor area (15–1,000 m²).
- Like-for-like premium: regression of the log of price on “C or better”, log floor area, property type, the certificate's build period and the year of sale. The 95% range shows how precise the estimate is; when it includes zero, the data cannot tell the premium apart from none.
Caveats
- The band is the one on the certificate before the sale; certificates are a median 0.8 years old at the sale, but a quarter are over 4 years old and some homes were improved since.
- Condition, garden, parking, views and the exact position within the sector are not known; a premium could hide in them, or they could hide one.
- Individual sales and addresses are not shown.