Only 11% of renovated houses for sale in Italy are in Class A, A+ or B

Only 11% of renovated buildings placed on the market are certified in one of the first three energy classes (A, A+ and B). But awareness of the importance of the efficiency factor in the marketability of a house is growing: 51% of those who buy and 40% of those who sell have an "at least sufficient ability" to "know how to enhance the energy characteristics of a property". However, almost 60% of operators remain skeptical towards the effectiveness of the Ape (Energy Performance Certificate) tool to guide purchases. And if the main cause that discourages the choice of a house that saves a lot on the bill remains the higher expense (46.2% of responses), a notable obstacle remains linked to "cultural level and environmental awareness" (31%) and "lack of trust in the energy labeling system" (28%).

These are some of the most significant data that emerge from the analysis of the responses of over 500 real estate agents carried out by the I-Com Competitiveness Institute carried out in collaboration with Enea and Fiap and presented today 21 March together with the annual report on market trends according to the agents' association.
«Energy efficiency has definitely taken hold for the new residential building segment and, to a certain extent, for high-end buildings. However, the issue of the stock of existing buildings remains largely unresolved – declares Franco d'Amore, Vvce president of I-Com. The complexity of this segment must be addressed from countless fronts, ranging from the awareness of market players, to the availability of adequate tools to codify and communicate the energy performance of buildings, up to the issue of access to credit.

The real estate situation

According to Fiaip "the tenuous recovery of the real estate market continues in 2017". Although home sales have shown further growth, continuing the path of recovery that began in recent years, "we are still far from being able to claim victory: the increase in the number of transactions was not followed by a stabilized growth in prices and instead by a downward trend in many metropolitan cities". With an average drop of 2.3% for homes, -6.7% and -5.9% for offices. The Italian Federation of professional real estate agents notes "positive signs, but still settling", with the "contraction of sales times" despite the permanent "gap between asking prices and realization prices".

«In the coming months it will be understood – notes Fiaip – ​​whether it will be possible to return to a consolidation of real estate investments in our country, compared to other foreign countries, where the sector has been a lever for economic growth, unlike Italy». The weakness of the macroeconomic framework, associated with international tensions and the consequent uncertainty, including on the fiscal front in Italy, lead real estate agents to exclude "a strong immediate revival of the sector, despite the persistent increase in housing demand and the newfound long-term profitability of properties constituting an important factor".

The demand for homes for Fiaip has grown by approximately 10%, affecting all regional capitals, especially among those intending to purchase a first home (52%). There remains a certain excess of unsold properties, sometimes of poor quality, fueled by new disposals or disposals of impaired loans by banks. The most requested apartments are those in good condition, small in size, purchased in central and semi-central areas. The most sold residential units are three-room apartments for 41% of the sample and two-room mini apartments for 19%.

What will happen in the next few months? «Sales increased in the first half of 2017, with a slight recovery in values ​​at the end of the year. For 52% of those interviewed there will still be a decrease in prices in the first half of 2017, while there is a trend of greater caution for commercial properties and offices, where half of the sample interviewed expects a certain stability. Positive signals for the market also come from the contraction of sales times and the reduction in the average discount applied. Only 43% of real estate agents expect an increase in the number of rentals."