Sustainable homes selling faster and for more as energy costs soar

With sky-high energy prices, homes’ energy labels are increasingly important to potential buyers, RTL Nieuws reports after analyzing data from the realtors’ association NVM. Sustainable homes are increasingly selling faster and for more than homes with a low energy label.

In the third quarter of this year, a home with an energy label A yielded an average of 7 percent more than a home with an F label. In the same period last year, the difference was 2 percent.

“What is the energy label of the house? That is the first question home buyers ask during a viewing these days,” NVM real estate agent Rieks van den Burg said to the broadcaster. “We were awakened by the high gas and electricity prices. Now that we feel the high energy costs in our wallets, we have to start thinking about energy labels.”

Houses with a low energy label are on the market longer than those with a higher energy label on average. Homes with an A label are sold within 25 days, on average. Homes with an F label take 28 days, and homes with a G label 30.

Sustainable homes are also more likely to sell above the asking price. With the housing market cooling down, outbidding is decreasing across all energy labels, but the higher the energy label, the more people outbid.

Van den Berg expects the increasing demand for energy labels to be a lasting change. People looking to sell their unsustainable homes don’t have to panic immediately, he added. “But you have to take into account that it will take longer.”