Survey: Many owners would only renovate properties under duress

According to a survey, many property owners in Germany are only willing to undertake energy-saving renovations if they are forced to do so. A good 30 percent of those surveyed in a study by the direct bank ING stated that they would only renovate their property to increase energy efficiency if they were legally obliged to do so. In a survey last year, only around 12 percent said this.

Another 18 percent now said they would be willing to undertake energy-saving renovations if there was financial support – such as grants or tax breaks – that completely covered the costs. Almost nine percent make renovations dependent on aid that at least partially offsets the costs.

Many people are also not convinced by the prospect of falling costs

“The green transition in the residential real estate market is not and probably will not be a passion project among German consumers,” write the authors. Educational work alone will not be enough for an environmentally friendly conversion of the building sector, which is responsible for 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions and which the EU wants to become more environmentally friendly.

In the survey, a good quarter of those surveyed (26.9 percent) said that in order to carry out a renovation, they would have to be convinced that savings in energy costs outweigh the effort. Only just under eight percent said they had to be convinced of the effect of the renovation in terms of sustainability. For the study, around 1,000 representative people were surveyed online in the fall by the opinion research institute Ipsos.

Respondents lost track of funding programs

The fear of costs is therefore great. More than a third of the owners surveyed who had not taken any renovation measures in the past three years explained that the reason for this was that the costs were too high or that there was not enough government funding. Last year the proportion was only around a quarter.

The respondents apparently “lost track of things in the back and forth over funding programs that were stopped and then resumed,” believes ING. Because there are certainly subsidies – both for climate-friendly new buildings as well as for the renovation and modernization of existing buildings.

However, renovations are expensive: According to the study, the costs for roofing, plumbing and glazing work, thermal insulation composite systems or heating and central water heating systems are around 50 percent higher than in 2019.

Only a mixture of incentives and legal obligations will probably help, says ING with a view to upcoming EU rules. “The motto for the years ahead will probably be demand and support, carrot and stick.” According to the wishes of the European Parliament, many buildings in the EU must become more environmentally friendly and energy consumption should decrease significantly in the medium term.