Remember when buying a new home meant worrying about the number of bedrooms, a decent kitchen, and maybe a garden big enough for the kids to kick a ball around? Those days feel almost quaint now. These days, one of the first questions I get asked by buyers – especially the younger, tech-savvy crowd – is “does it have an EV charger?” It’s no longer a nice-to-have. It’s rapidly becoming a deal-breaker, right up there with good schools and a reliable boiler.
The shift has been astonishingly quick. A couple of years ago, an electric-car charging point was the kind of gimmick that made estate agents raise an eyebrow and add a bullet point to the brochure. Today, it’s as standard as double glazing in many price brackets. And when you see the properties currently on the market that have taken the plunge properly – not just a socket in the garage but a smart, future-proofed installation – you realise we’re looking at homes that are genuinely ready for the next couple of decades.
Why EV-Ready Homes Are Suddenly Everywhere
The numbers tell part of the story. Over a million plug-in cars are now registered in the UK, and the government’s 2035 deadline for the end of new petrol and diesel sales is looming larger in people’s minds. But it’s more than legislation. Range anxiety is fading, battery prices are tumbling, and – perhaps most importantly – running an electric car is starting to feel genuinely cheaper than filling up with petrol, especially if you charge at home on a night-rate tariff.
Add in the fact that installing a decent home charger after you’ve moved in can easily set you back £1,000–£2,500 (and involve digging up your driveway), and suddenly a house that already has one wired in looks like a very smart buy indeed.
So here, in no particular order, are eight standout properties currently on the market across Britain that haven’t just bolted a charger onto the wall – they’ve thought about sustainable living properly. Some are brand-new eco-builds, others are clever conversions or sensitively updated period houses. All of them make owning an electric car feel effortless.
A Sleek Modern Home on the Edge of Bath
Nestled beside the National Trust parkland of Dyrham Park, this four-bedroom detached house feels like the countryside and city decided to meet halfway. The terrace comes with a proper pizza oven (always a winner in my book), but the real future-proofing is outside: a discreet 7kW charger tucked beside the garage, wired straight into the mains with its own dedicated circuit.
Inside, the open-plan kitchen-diner flows beautifully, there’s a one-bedroom annexe for guests or teenagers who refuse to leave, and the garden even has a treehouse with a zip wire. At around £1.65 million, it’s not cheap, but you’re buying a ready-made lifestyle rather than just a house.
Chiltern Hills Grandeur with Serious Land
If you like the idea of rolling up to your own 22 acres, this seven-bedroom house near Reading delivers in spades. Exposed beams, oak floors, a cinema room – all the usual suspects – but the charger installation here is particularly well executed: twin pods hidden in a restored barn so you can charge two cars simultaneously without trailing cables across the courtyard.
The acreage includes paddocks and woodland, and the Chilterns location means you’re properly in the countryside yet still only 45 minutes from Paddington when you need to be. Offers over £5 million feel steep until you remember you’re basically buying a small estate with its own EV infrastructure.
Exmoor-Edge Contemporary with Brains
Solar panels, air-source heat pump, triple glazing, and – the cherry on top – an Ohme intelligent charger that talks to your energy tariff and only charges when electricity is cheapest (or greenest). This five-bedroom house near Minehead looks modest from the lane but opens up into light-filled, minimalist spaces with huge windows framing the moor.
There’s a courtyard garden, a greenhouse for the keen grower, and just over three acres of grounds. At a shade under £1.3 million it feels like remarkable value for something this thoughtfully specified.
A Barn Conversion That Thinks Like a Tech Company
Kent’s Top Barn has been converted with the kind of attention to detail that makes you wonder why all barns aren’t done this way. Underfloor heating throughout, a whole-house air filtration system, Lutron lighting you can control from your phone, and – naturally – another Ohme charger mounted neatly on the flint wall.
The two silos next to the house have been repurposed as workshop and storage, which is inspired, and the open-plan living area is vast without ever feeling cold. Guide price just over £1 million.
The Coolest Conversion in Scotland?
A World War II control tower near Perth, now a four-bedroom home with a lift (yes, really) and panoramic views across the Scottish countryside. The charger is mounted at ground level beside the garage, and because the building was basically rebuilt from the inside out, the electrical infrastructure is bang up to date – no worries about tripping the breaker when you’re charging at 7kW and running the Aga at the same time.
The sunroom with floor-to-ceiling glass is where you’ll spend most of your time, and the terrace catches the last of the evening light beautifully. £1.65 million feels entirely reasonable for something this unique.
Cotswolds Eco House Done Right
In the heart of classic Cotswolds countryside but built only a few years ago to serious green credentials: ground-source heat pump, photovoltaic panels with battery storage, MVHR ventilation, and a Rolec charger neatly integrated into the brickwork of the double garage.
Five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and the kind of finish that makes you slightly annoyed when guests spill red wine on the oak. Around £1.95 million – you’re paying for the spec as much as the location.
Victorian Splendour Near the Lakes
Not every EV-ready house needs to be new-build. This Victorian beauty just south of Carlisle retains high ceilings, original fireplaces, and shuttered sash windows but has a impeccably discreet charging point in the old coach house – now a double garage.
Five bedrooms, five reception rooms, and almost three acres of gardens that roll down to a stream. You’re 15 minutes from the Lake District National Park but still within striking distance of the M6 when work calls. £1.25 million feels like a bargain for the amount of house you get.
Wiltshire Grade II Listed with 21st-Century Manners
Finally, proof that listed buildings can move with the times. This six-bedroom 19th-century house near Chippenham has the gables, the bell tower, the vast fireplaces – everything you want from a mini manor – but the electrics were completely renewed five years ago. The charger is tucked into a restored stable block so it’s invisible from the front, which keeps the planners happy.
Four acres, a billiards room, and outbuildings galore. £1.4 million.
The common thread running through all eight properties? Someone has actually thought about how we’re going to live over the next twenty years, rather than just slapping a charger on the wall and hoping for the best. In a market that still has plenty of 1970s houses with single sockets and dodgy fuseboards, that kind of foresight is worth its weight in lithium.
And honestly? I suspect in five years’ time we’ll look back at houses without proper home charging the same way we currently look at houses without central heating. Quaint, but ultimately a lot of hassle to put right.
If you’re in the market for your next move and you drive – or plan to drive – electric, these are the homes that will make the transition feel seamless rather than stressful. And that, more than any gadget or gimmick, is the real luxury.
