The value of the energy retrofit in the Italian housing market. Two case-studies compared

The important role of the buildings energy issue, recognized by the current international policies, is confirmed by the strategies employed in different European countries to promote energy efficiency measures. With reference to two samples of residential properties recently sold in the two Italian cities of Bari (Southern Italy) and Bolzano (Northern Italy), located in different areas in terms of the socio-economic and climatic factors, in the present research an econometric analysis to verify the contribution of the energy performance on the residential selling prices is implemented. The proposed methodology and the results obtained constitute a useful support for both the Public Institutions, interested in testing the effectiveness of the energy policies already activated and planning the future incentives, and the private operators, who can appropriately perform their investment decisions by taking into account the increase in the market values expected by the energy retrofit initiatives.