Poorly insulated homes proving a hard sell in Germany with prices dropping

Increasing awareness of energy efficiency is affecting Germany’s housing market, with poorly insulated houses proving harder to sell, according to the news magazine Der Spiegel. An analysis by housing portal Immoscout24 showed that price differences between renovated and unrenovated properties are increasing. Prices of properties with a mediocre energy efficiency rating (class C & D) had dropped by eight percent within a year, while properties with good energy ratings remained stable in price. According to the report, properties with even worse ratings (class E to H) simply weren’t selling because of the high costs associated with bringing them up to modern standards, particularly with the governing coalition’s proposed building energy law that would force some homeowners to replace fossil fuel-based heating with renewable energy-based heating systems.

In Germany, houses are given a single letter rating indicating energy use per square metre, from the most efficient A+ down to H. In cities, homes with an efficiency rating of G to H sell at an average of 35 percent cheaper than those with an A rating, while the price difference reaches almost 50 percent in rural areas. There is a high number of unrenovated homes on the market simply because nobody wants to buy them, according to the article.