Abstract. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of higher energy efficiency of residential buildings on market prices in Italy. We employ novel, and almost unexploited, data on Energy Performance Certificates of three Italian regions (Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont) and merge them with house prices and socio-economic variables at various aggregation levels. The relationship between house prices and energy efficiency is estimated by means of hedonic regression models, quantile regressions and fixed effects panel data models. Our results reveal the existence of an energy-efficiency price premium in the three regions, with significant differences among them. Heterogeneity is also detected along the price distribution, at least for Lombardy and Piedmont. Finally, relevant variables showing a positive association with price are more recent construction years, higher mobility in the housing market and higher income within municipalities.
Keywords. Energy Performance Certificates; Energy Performance of Buildings Directive; House prices; Hedonic regression; Quantile regression; Fixed effects panel data models.
JEL classification. Q40; C21; C23.
Corresponding author. Elena Giarda, Prometeia, Piazza Trento e Trieste 3, 40137 Bologna, Italy, E-mail: elena.giarda@prometeia.com
Acknowledgments and disclaimer. We thank three anonymous referees for their comments, and Lorenzo Forni, Filippo Fortuna, Francesco Giovanardi, Alessandra Lanza, Michele Penza, Lorenzo Rocco, Stefania Tomasini, Lea Zicchino and Sedric Zucchiatti for helpful discussion. We are grateful to Caterina Behrens and Valentina Lo Passo for their contribution at an initial stage of this work. Finally, we are thankful to G. Claudia R. Romano (Regione Emilia-Romagna, Sustainable Innovation, Enterprises and Production Chains Department) and Cosimo Marinosci (ART-ER) for providing us with the Emilia-Romagna’s Energy Performance Certificates database under an agreement with the University of Padua within the GRINS Partnership. The research is funded by the European Union - Next Generation EU, in the framework of the GRINS - Growing Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Project (GRINS PE00000018 – CUP B33D22001700006). The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for them. All remaining errors are our own.
