Energy efficiency increases the value of Spanish homes. Specifically, the improvement of a letter in energy efficiency rises the price of houses by 1.3% on average and can exceed 4% in northern Spain, according to the IESE Business School, the Real Estate Valuation Company Tinsa by Accumin and the Data Platform and Market Analysis Accumin Intelligence. This means that energy efficiency begins to be present among the variables considered when buying a home and that among citizens is going through, although slowly, the idea that energy savings is and will be an issue to take into account in price formation. «The market positively values the properties with higher levels of efficiency, by incorporating both future energy costs and the contribution to environmental sustainability,» says Cristina Arias, director of the Study Service of Tunsa by Accumin. Its direct impact on prices is, for the moment, moderate, but with a clear tendency to increase in the coming years. This is because that 1.3% is the result of isolating only energy efficiency without taking into account other constructive variables, something that until now had been done. The most efficient housing are also usually more modern, with better constructive quality and higher prices. An example: the average revaluation of a house that improves a letter in the energy rating is around 9.4%. Now, it is an adulterated fact because the most modern and expensive construction is also being taken into account. «This is a result that leads to erroneous conclusions. Therefore, it is important to differentiate whether the market values a home for its attribute, for example, modernity or if it does because it values its greatest energy efficiency,» adds Arias. This is the exercise that IESE has done, Tunsa by Accumin and Intelligence Accumine Authors The increase in the price is greater when the letter is improved in the most efficient homes (CA) and something lower in the most inefficient houses (GD). For example, the price rises 1.2% if you pass from the letter E to the D; 2.1% when B becomes A, and up to 3.3% in the change of C a B. That is, there is a premium Green (green cousin) in the Spanish residential market where best CO2 emissions ratings translate into greater value of homes, collects the report. To achieve this, the owner must act on three elements: «The reinforcement of the isolation, the replacement of air conditioning systems for more efficient and the installation of renewable energy,» says Arias. The revaluation of the houses is not restricted to the luxury properties or the single -family or concrete locations, but is an attribute valued by the citizen in all categories of the market. Of course, the increase is greater in regions with colder climates, such as Asturias (4.5%) and Cantabria (4.8%), due to the importance that the Technical Building Code attributes to reducing heating costs. In the warmest communities, such as Andalusia, Madrid and the Canary Islands, the green premium is lower (from 1% to 1.1%). The price increase is higher in single -family (1.5%) than in block floors (1.3%) and in homes built after 2006 (1.7%) than in the oldest properties (between 1.1%and 1.2%). In the coming years, it is foreseeable that the economic impact will gain weight. «Based on the greatest environmental awareness and, above all, on the greatest regulation to achieve the energy transition objectives, we hope it will continue to increase and accelerate in the coming years,» says Arias. There is. The energy efficiency of the housing park in Spain is quite low. Most homes have grades that indicate high energy consumption and low performance and air conditioning benefits (they have an energy rating between D and G). Reversing this situation is one of the great challenges of Spain, a country where a large percentage of the buildings are prior to the approval of the Technical Building Code (which entered into force in 2006) and 60% of the homes were built without any regulation of energy efficiency (they are prior to the application of the NBE-CT 79 standard), according to the Institute for Diversification and Energy Savings (IDAE).
The label
Buyers and vendors can know the energy efficiency of homes through the certificate, a mandatory document when it is sold or rented that includes a scale of letters: from the A (the most efficient) to the G, similar to the labels of the appliances. It is mandatory in theory because, last March, the CECU consumer association denounced idealist, photocasa and safe for irregularities with this label in their ads: one in three did not present it and said that it was «in process.» In 2026, Spain must adapt its energy efficiency certification system to the new community scale, which seeks to be homogeneous in all countries. According to the European Directive 2024/1275, in 2030 the buildings with the worst rating (g) must be renewed at least to the E, and in 2033 all must reach at least class D. In 2050, all properties must be of zero emissions. The cost of the certificate in Spain maintains their stable prices and does not record important variations from one year to another. «For floors of up to 250 square meters, the price of a certificate, in accordance with Royal Decree 390/2021 and duly registered before the competent body, ranges between 90 and 135 euros. In the case of single -family homes, the cost usually starts from 150 euros, also depending on the location and characteristics of the property,» says Lucía Martínez, technical director of Agentia R+ By Accumin. It is worth remembering that the issuance of this document requires a face -to -face visit to the housing by a qualified technician. This inspection guarantees the veracity of the data collected and the legal validity of the document.