# RECORD 29456dec57d29a749c11421568db5457ce686cfd
# TITLE: The evolution of energy efficiency impact on housing prices. An analysis for Metropolitan Barcelona
# YEAR: 2019.0  VENUE: Revista de la Construcción  DOI: 10.7764/rdlc.18.1.156
# AUTHORS: Carlos Marmolejo-Duarte; Ai Chen
# PAGES: 11  CANDIDATE TABLE PAGES (1-based): []
# ABSTRACT: The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive has it made mandatory to include an energy performance certificate (EPC) on real estate advertisements so as to promote efficient properties. Previous research has found a positive correlation between residential prices and EPC’s energy ranks; nonetheless, the analysis of the evolution of such impact for the same market is still pending. This paper tries to shed light on this issue by analyzing the evolution of prices of the second largest urban agglomeration in Spain. In doing so, a pooled hedonic model is carried out departing from selling listing prices of apartments and a set of locative control variables. Results suggest that in a short period the energy premium for multifamily houses has positively evolved. As a result, a sharped market differentiation arises between inefficient and energy saving dwellings. Such findings have significant implications for the construction and real estate industry, since higher selling prices may compensate for higher building costs coming from energy efficient technologies.


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156 
 
The evolution of energy efficiency impact on housing prices. An analysis 
for Metropolitan Barcelona 
 
La evolución del impacto de la eficiencia energética en los precios residenciales. Un análisis para 
la Barcelona Metropolitana 
 
Carlos Marmolejo-Duarte (Main and Correspondence Author) 
Departamento de Tecnología en la Arquitectura, Centro de Política de Suelo y Valoraciones, Escuela Técnica Superior 
de Arquitectura de Barcelona, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña 
Diagonal, 649,4a, Arq Legal, 08028, Barcelona (Spain) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7051-7337 
carlos.marmolejo@upc.edu  
 
Ai Chen 
Departamento de Tecnología en la Arquitectura, Centro de Política de Suelo y Valoraciones, Escuela Técnica Superior 
de Arquitectura de Barcelona, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña 
Diagonal, 649,4a, Arq Legal, 08028, Barcelona (Spain) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8912-0660 
ai.chen@upc.edu  
 
Manuscript Code: 1149 
Date of Acceptance/Reception: 29.01.2019/16.07.2018 
DOI: 10.7764/RDLC.18.1.156 
 
Abstract 
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive has it made mandatory to include an energy performance certificate (EPC) on real estate 
advertisements so as to promote efficient properties. Previous research has found a positive correlation between residential prices and EPC’s energy 
ranks; nonetheless, the analysis of the evolution of such impact for the same market is still pending. This paper tries to shed light on this issue by 
analyzing the evolution of prices of the second largest urban agglomeration in Spain. In doing so, a pooled hedonic model is carried out departing 
from selling listing prices of apartments and a set of locative control variables. Results suggest that in a short period the energy premium for 
multifamily houses has positively evolved. As a result, a sharped market differentiation arises between inefficient and energy saving dwellings. Such 
findings have significant implications for the construction and real estate industry, since higher selling prices may compensate for higher building 
costs coming from energy efficient technologies. 
 
Keywords: Hedonic price models, real estate valuation, energy efficiency, energy performance certificates, Barcelona. 
 
Resumen 
La Directiva de la Eficiencia Energética en la Edificación obliga la inclusión de la etiqueta derivada de un certificado de eficiencia energética (CEE) en 
la publicidad inmobiliaria con el objetivo de promover edificios energéticamente eficientes. En la literatura está bien establecida la correlación positiva 
entre los precios residenciales y las clases energéticas de los CEE; sin embargo, la evolución de dicha correlación en dicho mercado es un tema 
pendiente. Este trabajo intenta avanzar en ese sentido a partir del análisis de la evolución de los precios en la segunda aglomeración urbana en 
España. Para ello, se utiliza un modelo de precios hedónicos con datos provenientes de precios de oferta de apartamentos y de un conjunto de 
variables locativas de control. Los resultados sugieren que en un periodo corto de tiempo el sobreprecio energético de las viviendas plurifamiliares 
ha tenido una evolución positiva, emergiendo una diferenciación importante entre las viviendas ineficientes y aquéllas que ahorran energía. Estos 
hallazgos, tienen implicaciones importantes para el sector inmobiliario y de la construcción en tanto cuanto un mayor precio de venta podría 
compensar los mayores costes de construcción derivados de la edificación energéticamente eficiente. 
 
Palabras clave: Modelos de precios hedónicos, valoración inmobiliaria, eficiencia energética, Barcelona. 
 
Introduction  
 
In order to foster energy-efficient buildings, the European Commission issued the Energy Performance of Buildings 
Directive (EPBD 2002/91/EC), recast in 2010/31/UE. The main hypothesis of such communitarian policy is that building 
users (i.e. buyers and tenants) should elicit in preferential conditions efficient buildings when they are informed on 
energy consumption and CO2 emissions. So, individuals may be willing to pay more for taking advantage of energy 
savings and environmental preservation. In doing so, the Directive obligates real estate owners willing to sell or lease 
properties to get an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and include the derived energy rank in the advertising of the 
property. In sum, by breaking down energy information asymmetries, the EU tries to promote the construction of 
efficient buildings and the energy retrofit of existing ones (Encinas et al., 2018).  
 
In Spain the transposition of the Directive has been implemented by means of different legal instruments, being the RD 
235/2013 the most import one. According to this legal text, as from 1st of June 2013, almost all properties to be let (to