Energy efficiency and residential values: a changing European landscape

Energy efficiency and residential values: a changing European landscape
March 6, 2019 Sophie Rasbash

On the 5th of March, RICS, with the support of the REVALUE project, published an insight paper – Energy efficiency and residential values: a changing European landscape. Written by Professors Sarah Sayce and Sara Wilkinson, the report provides a comprehensive review of the issues that connect values in the residential sector to energy efficiency. It reviews the evidence and enables valuers to better understand the impacts of energy efficiency on the value and or liquidity of residential buildings; in the short term, it may be liquidity that has the more significant role.

The paper rightly points out that the market is moving: finally, regulation will be a key driver to support upgrades but until new levels of energy efficiency are reached by all buildings, the value of less efficient stock will increasingly lag behind. We may witness both green premiums and brown discounts“, writes Cushman & Wakefield’s Reno Cardiff in his foreword.

The insight paper’s key findings will be outlined in a further article to be published shortly in RICS’ own hard copy journal, Modus. Together with the outputs of overall results, the insight paper and the regression findings are planned to be developed by members of the consortium into papers for submission to refereed academic journals.

To read the full report, please click here.