Real estate and ecology: one no longer goes without the other!

It is impossible to ignore the information: willingly or unwillingly, owners of residential property in France will participate in the collective effort to combat climate change. The Climate and Resilience Act, particularly promulgated in August 2021, significantly strengthens the obligations of landlords and provides for the eventual prohibition of renting properties classified E, F and G on the energy performance certificate.

What is interesting to observe is that, beyond the legal measures and subsidies allocated for renovating older properties, the entire population seems to be directing its choices towards more ecologically sustainable housing whenever its means allow. Not out of obligation (or not solely), but also because ecological housing has become synonymous with an increased quality of life and therefore, a happier future.

Let us examine this phenomenon which could transform the delay that France displays in terms of ecological resilience of housing, into an advance that would make it the European benchmark for energy transition and an example to follow.

An obvious fact that has become customary

First of all, and empirically, the awareness is collective of the evident and concrete benefits of a more ecologically sustainable housing stock. The owner gains a property of greater value, the occupant pays less expensive energy bills and gains in living comfort. The community, for its part, limits the quantity of energy to be produced, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions generated by housing. At present, these emissions still represent 45% of national emissions!

The communication and positioning of public authorities to encourage massive renovation of French housing has achieved a notable success: for many of our fellow citizens, it is now important to live in more ecologically sustainable housing.

Behind this term, nevertheless, a broader awareness is emerging. It is not merely a question of better insulating one’s house or building to “save the planet” and, in passing, one’s wallet. The vision of more ecological districts also incorporates the presence of more extensive green infrastructure, facilities giving ample space to clean modes of transport and pedestrian zones, to the detriment of the car which, even if electric, remains synonymous with significant pollution. It is also a question of returning to human-scale housing that enables a social and commercial life in the neighbourhood. In short, ecological real estate represents a better quality of life, desired by a growing segment of the population.

A more ecologically sustainable housing, even if it means paying more

Awareness is disrupting the equilibrium of property search: the prospect of making substantial savings on bills for increasingly expensive energy leads to considering the acquisition of a more expensive property for purchase or rental, if it offers guarantees of low energy consumption.

Thus, a Harris poll commissioned by the estate agency network Orpi tells us that tenants are more sensitive to energy performance than one might believe: 75% of respondents indicate that energy consumption is a criterion influencing their housing choice. Nearly two-thirds are even prepared to pay higher rent to benefit from less energy-intensive housing.

If owners are less inclined to accord importance to the energy performance of their property - only half say they feel concerned, certainly because of the renovation costs to be planned - the developing green value will increasingly exclude energy-intensive housing from the higher brackets in terms of resale value. All the more so since the law will soon exclude them from the rental stock.

The interest for owners, particularly landlords, will then be to acquire “low-energy” labelled housing or renovated with clean, insulating and aesthetic materials, all in a greener and more pleasant neighbourhood to live in. The acquisition may cost more, but will offer guarantees over time, of tenant occupancy and resale value.

The transformation towards eco-housing, already underway

The will of the French to move towards more “green” housing naturally translates into political positions, at several levels. This is how the law imposes renovation of part of the national housing stock, how the government proposes renovation subsidies (particularly through the Ma Prime Rénov’ scheme), and how municipalities are moving towards greener territorial development, preferring to authorise construction of more ecological buildings and progressively reducing - in major cities - the space allocated to the automobile.

A study conducted by Harris Interactive for the real estate network l’Adresse helps us to project the ecological ambitions of citizens. When asked about a vision projected over 3 years, 81% of those surveyed imagine that tomorrow’s housing will be better thermally insulated, nearly 8 respondents out of 10 (79%) see it as more economical in energy consumption and 78% speak of more ecologically sustainable housing.

The theme is already rooted in all minds, and naturally translates into the plans of builders. Increasingly stringent standards and labels synonymous with easier sale enable more ecologically sustainable buildings to come onto the market, well insulated and using materials such as linseed oil, cork, hemp and wood, useful for heat conservation.

If renovation cannot most often achieve equivalent energy performance, it will nevertheless offer a notable gain in terms of energy consumption, at reduced cost thanks to public subsidies.

Real estate professionals expected at the turning point

The buyer or renter of today expects a real estate professional to be able to provide informed advice on building ecology. Information on current standards, meaning of labels, estimation of renovation costs, details on the energy rating of the property in question: ecology is becoming a real estate competence in its own right, to which an estate agent must be trained.

Real estate professionals have a role to play in the success of the energy transition desired by the government and the population, as trusted intermediaries capable of guiding citizens towards the set objectives.

The green value of a dwelling constitutes not only a guarantee of success of a real estate transaction as it is reassuring for resale or in the face of the evolution of the energy problem, but it is also a communication tool that estate agencies have every interest in promoting to build and retain a clientele that is sensitive to it.

All sectors of our society are undergoing significant and increasingly marked evolution, in the face of the need to oppose climate change and other environmental resilience issues: agriculture is progressively moving towards practices more respectful of ecosystems, the automobile is electrifying, industry aims to produce more cleanly and with less waste. It is logical that the supply of residential buildings and the development of urban spaces should follow the same path, to contribute to the common objective: to live better in our world!