EPC Green premium in two different european climate zones: a comparative study between Barcelona and Turin

Abstract

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) are important tools aimed at improving buildings’energy performance. They play a central role in the context of the Energy Performance of BuildingsDirective (EPBD) which asks member states (MS) to take the necessary measures to establish a completecertification system. In this study, an application of the hedonic price method (HPM) assessing theeffect of energy labels derived from the EPC on real estate market value is presented. The estimationmethodology was applied to two European cities characterized by different climate conditions.The analysis was based on two datasets of listing prices referring to multi-family residential marketsin Turin (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain). Four models for each dataset were applied to capture themarginal price of green attributes, but also to control for the spatial autocorrelation among values.The findings showed how the EPC has been applied in the two countries and how it has influenced thereal estate market. Turin’s buyers pay more attention to the EPC label, while in Barcelona, they valuemuch more single characteristics, such as air conditioning and a swimming pool, considered popularattributes among contemporary buildings in this climate zone. From the results, it is possible todeduce that the implementation of the EPC schemes is still irregular in EU countries and must bestrengthened through a standardized rating model