Un just under 145,000 euros for a 39 m two-room apartment2Pallice district in La Rochelle, 553,000 euros for a large 128 m2 apartment2 in the wealthy Genette district, 88,000 euros for a small studio in Les Minimes… What do these properties recently found on the online advertisement site bienici.com have in common? An energy performance diagnosis in F or G synonymous with “thermal sieve”.
The unflattering expression generally applies to homes that consume more than 330 kWh per square meter per year. Goods out of step with the issues of the moment. Which are expensive to heat in winter, cool in summer and contribute more than others to global warming. Which does not mean that they no longer have access to the real estate market.
Only -10% to -20%
Housing classified G will no longer be authorized for annual rental from 1is January 2025, unless the Barnier government modifies a timetable which also targets classified F in 2028 and E in 2032. For two to three years, a share of owners who cannot or do not want to finance energy improvement work therefore resign themselves to selling them (it is not forbidden to live in a thermal sieve).
In an expensive local real estate market (despite the national drop in transactions) and in a rental market under great tension, these are all potential opportunities for investors and modest budgets. The result is price reductions which are not necessarily… spectacular. Christophe Gaillard, of Laforêt Immobilier, places them at “-10% to -20%” only, in general, compared to the market price. It must be said that thermal strainers are not as numerous as one might imagine on the local sales or long-term rental market.
The Energy Management Agency (Ademe) manages a site (observatoire-dpe-audit.ademe) which aggregates the results of energy performance diagnostics (DPE) carried out over time. The statistics reveal, thus, that for all the 28 municipalities of the La Rochelle agglomeration, 10,617 DPE were carried out from 1is January to September 30, 2024. Of this total, only 3% are classified G and 1% F. The whole of Charente-Maritime is at 6% and 3%, or double.
22% of properties diagnosed in Clavette since the start of the year have benefited from the A label, 17% in Lagord, 9% in Puilboreau, 20% in Montroy, 1.1% in La Rochelle…
The local offer is therefore better, qualitatively, than the departmental and even regional offer (5% in F, 3% in G). In the details of housing put on the market during the first three quarters, 5% are in A, 8% in B, 41% in C, 30% in D and 12% in E.
With strong variations from one municipality to another. 22% of properties diagnosed in Clavette since the start of the year have benefited from the A label, 17% in Lagord, 9% in Puilboreau, 20% in Montroy… Presumably thanks to one or more new programs which have just come out of earth. The figure drops to only 1.1% in La Rochelle, a historic town where the share of old housing is necessarily higher than in neighboring towns.
The DPE in C is the most represented in the offer in the central city, over the first three quarters of 2024, or 44% of the total. For the whole of Charente-Maritime, the figure is only 29%, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine 34%. A sign, once again, of an overall offer of properties for sale or rent of better thermal quality.
Taxation: the usefulness of an expert
“Two to three years ago, the DPE was not really of interest to landlords who rent. It is in fact the tenant who pays the energy bill…” But that is changing, indicates Robert Gaillard, former Laforêt real estate agent who became an independent expert. In these times of budgetary scarcity, the tax services would, in fact, redouble their vigilance in matters of real estate wealth tax. [Isfi, NDLR] and acquisitions through Pinel-type tax exemption programs. In the La Rochelle region, it is not uncommon for someone who has a beautiful house, or even two or three apartments, to approach or exceed the threshold of 1.3 million which means that one is subject to the Isfi. Every year, you must evaluate your property yourself and make a declaration. Which can lead to a tax adjustment. “I see quite a few owners in this situation,” assures Robert Gaillard, “it has gone up to 180,000 euros claimed for one of them! » Calculating the exact value of a property, in these times of uncertainty, is the job of the independent real estate expert registered with the national chamber of unions. A work that is authentic in the event of litigation.
