Prices can be up to 14% higher for greener homes
Energy efficiency is increasingly affecting property prices in France, with better performing homes attracting prices of up to 14% higher than average ones.
Since January 1, 2011, any advertisement selling a flat or house should include the property’s energy and greenhouse gas classification. It is up to the seller to have a Diagnostic de Performance Energétique (DPE) survey carried out.
The DPE is one of several diagnostics that sellers must provide, and gives a measure of the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of the property. It is intended to inform potential buyers about the level of heat insulation and energy spending, and the type of work needed to upgrade heating efficiency in order to reduce energy consumption.
Depending on the region, homes with an A or B energy efficiency classification (A being highest) sold for between 6% and 14% more than those with D classification.
There are regional differences. For example, in Brittany houses with a C class energy rating sold for 7% more than homes with a D class rating. The same goes for Nouvelle Aquitaine, while the price difference in Auvergne was 4%.
Meanwhile apartments in Occitanie with an F or G class rating sold on average for 7% less than those with a D rating, all other things being equal. In Sud Région the differential is 10% and 6% in Pays de la Loire.
Notaires de France said a low rating pulls down prices more than a good rating helps raise them, and that the markdown in price for low-rated properties varies, depending on when it was built.
A class A, B or C rated property built between 1948 and 1969 represents 10% of sales, for example, compared to 60% of sales for properties built since 2011.
