As part of a broader trend towards energy-efficient living, the energy rating of properties has become one of the key criteria when purchasing property in just seven years.
The EPC (energy performance certificate) score indicates the energy consumption per square metre (kW/m²) with a letter-based scoring system, with A being the best and F the worst – and it is increasingly affecting the real estate market.
Several studies have already pointed to its large impact on selling price: properties with a good EPC score (ABC) are more and more sought after, resulting in their value rising much faster than energy-guzzling homes (DEF).
In Flanders specifically, the renovation obligation (which requires anyone buying a house with energy label E or F to upgrade it to at least label D within five years) further gave sellers of houses with A or B labels leeway to bring up their selling price.
Another consequence, highlighted by the Housing Study by the bank Crelan, affects buyers. Experts found that people in Belgium are attaching increasing importance to the EPC score when looking for their dream home. This year the EPC score was, for the first time, one of the five most important criteria for people in Belgium when it comes to finding the perfect home.
More than 60% of respondents consider the score important. This will likely further widen the price gap. Again, in Flanders, the renovation obligation plays a big role in this. This requirement has also led to move-in ready houses becoming more popular, as they often already meet higher EPC criteria and therefore require fewer renovations.
"The increasing focus on the EPC score is part of a broader trend towards energy-efficient living," Crelan's spokesperson, Caroline Beauvois, said. "The demand for high EPC scores will only increase due to the tightening of the renovation obligation."
However, the new Flemish Government is looking to relax the further tightening of the renovation obligation, and to limit it to a rating of D, abandoning previous plans for all houses to achieve an EPC rating of A by 2040 and all apartments by 2045. In Flanders, this could put a brake on dramatic price rises linked to EPC scores.
