Improving the energy efficiency of a house can “significantly” increase its market value, with each improvement on the Building Energy Rating (BER) scale increasing the average final sale price of a house by at least two per cent nationwide, according to new findings.
Analysis by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on data from MyHome, owned by The Irish Times Group, of 50,000 homes sold during 2023 and 2024 calculated an average increase of 2.7 per cent nationwide with each improvement on the 15-step BER scale, which will soon be “simplified” to an eight-point scale.
This average increase is as high as 4.7 per cent in rural areas across the country, although it falls to just 1.7 per cent in urban areas of Dublin, according to the semi-State agency. The analysis was based on “actual sale prices rather than advertised list prices,” the SEAI said.
It further clarified “the comparatively lower uplift in urban Dublin may reflect the greater influence of other buyer priorities in the capital such as location, space, and proximity to amenities.”
RM Block
On average, houses saw a slightly higher uplift in price than apartments, with the average selling price rising 2.8 per cent and 2.2 per cent per BER rating step-up, respectively.
“The analysis shows energy efficiency is a contributor to value across all market segments and, while the value uplift varies by property type and location, the relationship remains strong even when such price-influencing factors are controlled for,” the SEAI said.
The semi-State agency’s chief executive, William Walsh, said these findings add “yet another compelling reason to upgrade your home”.
“We now have very clear evidence that homebuyers are increasingly valuing the resilience, day-to-day affordability and health benefits of owning a retrofitted home,” he said.
Walsh added “thousands of homeowners across the country are already enjoying the benefits of retrofitting, living in warmer, more comfortable homes, with cheaper, more predictable energy bills.”
MyHome’s managing director, Joanne Geary, said “the impact of a better BER on day-to-day running costs and the environment is already clear, and now this innovative analysis proves the positive, proportionate effect the rating has on house prices in urban, suburban and rural areas around the country.”
The SEAI said “upgrading energy performance can support household finances while also contributing to Ireland’s climate goal”. Energy efficiency is “increasingly linked” to mortgage rates, it said, and “by extension affordability”.
Government grant schemes from the SEAI allowed for energy efficiency upgrades in nearly 60,000 homes last year, with “more than €230 million investment on free home energy upgrades in 8,100 vulnerable, energy poor homes,” it said.
