Energy crisis: heating plans hit real estate market

Following higher interest rates, the federal government's heating plans are now increasingly exerting pressure on prices in the real estate market. This is reported by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The combination of higher interest rates and uncertainty about the costs that buyers or owners would have to bear when replacing their heating systems has triggered a noticeable reluctance to buy, says the spokesman for the management of LBS Immobilien in Potsdam. Older existing buildings with low energy efficiency are finding it increasingly difficult. "We are therefore observing declining demand in this segment, partly because the costs of refurbishments are difficult to calculate due to increased tradesmen's prices and supply chain problems," says Daniel Ritter, managing partner of the Frankfurt-based broker Von Poll. Particularly in the case of houses in need of renovation with large plots in B and C locations, prices fell in some cases by between ten percent and 30 percent. The Federal Statistical Office also confirms a crumbling of prices after several years of boom. In the fourth quarter of 2022, residential real estate fell in price by a total of 3.6 percent compared with the same quarter of the previous year. According to the German government's legislative plans, from 2024 onwards, as far as possible, every newly installed heating system is to be powered by 65 percent renewable energies. Heat pumps, solar thermal systems or hybrid systems comprising a heat pump and gas heating system will then have to be installed. Source: Depositphotos/ Pixinooo