Houses with high energy efficiency have become popular despite their comparatively higher cost. In particular, the number of homes offered for sale, classified in the top two energy efficiency categories of the energy certificate, has decreased by 30% over the past two years, namely from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of this year. According to data compiled by the online classifieds network Spitogatos.gr and processed by the analytics department Spitogatos Insights, green houses now account for 26% of all properties for sale, up from 56% two years ago.

On the other hand, the number of less efficient homes increased by 25%, as evidenced by the increase in listings for homes in the bottom three categories of the energy certificate. Today, the share of these objects reaches 31% of the total compared to 6% two years ago. Of course, this development also demonstrates the diversification of the composition of properties for sale, as several owners have chosen to list their old properties for sale in the last two years in order to capitalize on the rise in prices that has occurred. For example, two years ago the sale price of these properties was 1,670 euros/sq.m. on average, while today they reach 1991 euros/sq.m., an increase of 19%.

However, energy efficient real estate has also recorded significant capital gains, most of which are for newly built buildings or buildings built a few years ago. In particular, from 3,311 euros/sq.m. on average two years ago, today the average offer price reaches 4,100 euros/m2, recording an increase of almost 24%. In addition to high demand, another reason for this growth is the revaluation of building materials, which stepped in and increased the cost of construction.

The 40% of the most energy efficient homes are located in the southern suburbs, followed by the northern ones at 28%.

However, the high cost does not appear to have a negative impact on demand, with high-energy properties taking 2.2 months, or 28% faster, to develop compared to the lower categories.

In particular, according to an analysis by Spitogatos Insights, properties of the highest category (A+) are sold in an average of 5.6 months, compared to 7.8 months required for properties of the lowest category of energy efficiency. The energy crisis and recovery in the real estate market have made homebuyers much more aware of home energy efficiency issues, allowing property owners and sellers to take advantage of the current climate, real estate managers say. On the contrary, in previous years, and especially during the economic crisis, limited demand revolved mainly around the most affordable properties, without paying due attention to the rating of the respective property in terms of its energy efficiency. Thus, those owners who spent significant sums on the energy upgrades of their property could not easily benefit from a higher selling price, as is the case today.

According to Spitogatos Insights, 40% of the highest energy efficient homes are located in the southern suburbs, followed by the northern suburbs at 28%. It is also a clear indication of where new home builders have invested, as most of these homes are new builds. By contrast, in the center of Athens, only 11% of homes sold are highly energy efficient, compared to 52% in the bottom three categories.

The picture is similar for rental property. In particular, over the past two years there has been a decrease in the share of “green” objects by 42% and a corresponding increase in the share of objects with low energy efficiency by 25%. Somehow, their stock is now 31% compared to 11% of high yield properties. However, the difference in asking rental rates is not as big (as it is in sales), because today, instead of 12 euros/sq.m, “green” real estate is being rented. on average compared to 9.6 euro/sq.m. in the lower category. Accordingly, it takes almost two months for the highest tier property to find a tenant, compared to 2.3 months for the lowest tier property.