The homes people choose today may look very different as long-term investments in twenty years' time. A wide range of evolving factors – climate risk, energy consumption and efficiency, planning and development, transport connectivity, amenities, and neighbourhood desirability – are all reshaping what it means for a property to retain its value over time.
For lenders financing these homes, the question is no longer simply "what is this property worth today?", but "how will its value be affected over the next ten, twenty, or thirty years, and how can we make informed decisions that reflect these changing dynamics?"
The limits of traditional valuation
Traditional property valuation has long relied on broad information like the sale prices of nearby homes, square footage, and general location. This approach has been sufficient for some time, but can leave lenders exposed to unforeseen financial risk by not understanding threats to specific properties, or even undervaluing properties with potential.
For example, a property that is today assessed as low risk for flooding may be considered higher risk in the future. As climate change intensifies, areas previously considered safe will fall within the path of severe flood events, making them difficult to be insured, and in turn, loaned against. For changing natural environments, broad, postcode-level data will not be enough to make informed decisions around specific future risks or opportunities for houses.
Location data to make informed decisions for the future
Precise location data offers lenders the opportunity to not only validate the existing data they hold on the properties they are lending against, but also to enhance it, identifying risks that could reduce value and the opportunities that could enhance value.
Ordnance Survey's National Geographic Database provides a reliable foundation, and there are three main data layers that can help in the valuation process:
- OS Buildings offers detailed building characteristics at the level of individual structures, including roof type, construction materials, and dimensions. This enables lenders to assess a property's suitability for green retrofits such as solar panels, heat pumps, or EV charging infrastructure. These assets are becoming increasingly relevant to energy performance ratings and, by extension, to the mortgageability of a property. Understanding which properties have retrofit potential and which do not will be a meaningful differentiator in property valuation.
- OS Land Use adds further context, revealing how the land surrounding a property is classified and used. This information speaks directly to future development risk and neighbourhood desirability.
- OS Address provides property-level data that ensures every insight is anchored to the right location, such as property proximity to amenities like schools, GP practices, or railway stations.
- OS Water outlines proximity to water features like rivers and lakes, supporting assessments of flood exposure at the level of individual homes when combined with third-party flood data
Each of these data layers can be linked to a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) – a unique identifier tied to a specific addressable location. Acting as a golden thread, the UPRN connects data to specific properties, resulting in more accurate lending decisions.
Making the most of the data available
The properties that hold their value over the next decade will be those that are energy-efficient, in a desirable location, and are resilient to a changing climate. Granular location data makes it possible to identify which properties meet that bar today, which properties have the potential to get there, and which carry risks that broader valuation methods would miss entirely.
Discover the power of location data at the OS Innovation Festival
Ordnance Survey will be exploring how lenders can build this kind of forward-looking view at the upcoming OS Innovation Festival.
Our Financial Services team will be running a dedicated investigation into the desirability element of property valuations, examining how shifting environmental risks and emerging spatial opportunities are reshaping which properties retain value, which become harder to insure or finance, and where new growth potential may appear.
To learn more about how data-driven insights can support more resilient lending decisions in a changing climate, secure your spot at the OS Innovation Festival 2026 today.
