With a higher energy label, your home will be worth tens of thousands of euros more | Living

This is shown by an analysis by Brainbay, a subsidiary of NVM that conducts research into the housing market. According to the research agency, sustainability has played an increasingly important role in the purchase of a house since the end of 2021. In the first quarter of this year, the increase in value for a home with a better energy label increased even further compared to 2021. A house that went from energy label G to C increased in value by 4.5 percent in 2021. In the first quarter of this year, the value of a house with a comparable energy label increased by 8.3 percent.

“A lot has changed in recent times,” says Marc van der Lee of the research agency. “The war in Ukraine, rising energy prices, inflation. This makes people think about sustainability. Another factor is the low interest you get on your savings. With energy-efficient measures you invest in the future and you also spend less on energy costs every month.

Now that the housing market is cooling down somewhat, energy-efficient houses are more popular and that is good for the increase in value. “Buyers look more critically at the label and the overall sustainability of the home,” says Van der Lee. “In the housing market madness, people didn’t look at that. They just wanted to buy a house before someone else took it off. Now they have a little more peace of mind to look at what the energy label yields them.”

It does not matter much which energy-saving measures have been taken. “Whether it’s solar panels or extra insulation, the type of measure is not important to buyers. They mainly look at how much they save on energy costs. So it’s money driven.”

Houses that now have an energy label D can achieve the greatest profit if they boost it to label A+. The house then rises by an average of 10.4 percent. This amounts to approximately 41,000 euros at an average house price of 394,000 euros.

Owners of older homes, with a construction period before 1920, also generally benefit from sustainability measures, an average of 7.6 percent. The more recent the construction period, the less the increase in value. For homes built after 1995, the price rises an average of more than three percent with a label jump. “On the one hand, this has to do with the investments needed to move to a higher label. It costs more for older homes,” says Van der Lee. “On the other hand, you see that these types of houses often have more character and are in a good location. I am talking, for example, about the 1930s homes with stained glass. There is interest in these types of houses, especially if sustainable measures have already been taken. But it is of course a personal decision.”

How much your home increases in value due to sustainability measures also depends on which province you live in. For example, a home that goes from label C to A in the province of Groningen increases by an average of 8.7 percent, while in Utrecht this yields an increase in value of only 3.5 percent. According to Van der Lee, this has several causes. “The type of homes differs per province. The added value of sustainable measures is somewhat higher on average for semi-detached houses and detached houses. In some provinces there are simply more such houses.

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The age of the buildings also plays a role. There are on average more older homes in one province than in another.

And what will all those sustainable measures cost? ,,That is very difficult to say”, says Van der Lee. “It depends on too many factors. Type of house, year of construction, condition of the house, sheltered buildings or in the countryside, et cetera. It is best to seek advice from a specialist. They can measure your home and give tailor-made advice.