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 Buildings Directive (EPBD) which asks member states (MS) to take the necessary measures to establish a complete certification system. In this study, an application of the hedonic price method (HPM) assessing the effect of energy labels derived from the EPC on real estate market value is presented. The estimation methodology 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 markets in Turin (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain). Four models for each dataset were applied to capture the marginal 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 the real estate market. Turin’s buyers pay more attention to the EPC label, while in Barcelona, they value much more single characteristics, such as air conditioning and a swimming pool, considered popular attributes among contemporary buildings in this climate zone. From the results, it is possible to deduce that the implementation of the EPC schemes is still irregular in EU countries and must be strengthened through a standardized rating model.

Energy performance in buildings has become a milestone in EU environmental policy in the last 15 years. Nonetheless, in some countries such as Spain the full acceptance of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is still relatively rare and novel, with little evidence as to how relevant it is in the real estate market. There are different reasons for this phenomenon: on the one hand, the real estate crisis has paralyzed the completion of most of the works in new/refurbished efficient buildings (which renders it impossible to use revealed preference methods); on the other hand, information is not complete and the consumer's perception of the relevant cost/benefits could be incorrect. For this reason, assessing the trade-off between the energy label and other specific attributes of the housing market has become important. To that end, a choice experiment following an RPL (Random Parameter Logit) model was employed. This form is suitable to accommodate various empirical situations where the assumptions of the Conditional Logit model have to be relaxed. Results suggest that the Energy Label (EL) does matter in the real estate market in relation to other residential attributes. Marginal willingness to pay for an "A" label instead of an "E" is significantly higher than the stated savings in energy costs. The respondents' utility function seems to be also influenced by their educational level, as well as by their preference to own a house as opposed to renting it.

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Empirical evidence has found a correlation between Energy Performance (EPC) rankings and housing prices. Though, little attention has been devoted to research the spatial implications of EPC marginal prices. This paper attempts to fill this gap using a geographical-weightedregression, departing from listing prices for Barcelona. The results suggest the existence of a premium equivalent to 1.7% for each EPC ranking, which nearly double the previous reported evidence in this city. Also, the impact shows a non-stationary distribution across urban space. As a matter of fact, the higher the impact, the lower the price of apartments and their quality. The apartments portraying the larger impact are located in peripheral areas inhabited by medium and low-income population. So, the equity of less wealthy population witnesses the largest brown discount. 1

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