A new step in the timetable for banning the rental of energy-intensive housing. Since 1is January 2025, thermal strainers classified G in the energy performance diagnosis (DPE) can no longer be rented, at least for new leases signed from this date and those officially renewed or tacitly renewed thereafter. A timetable which gradually forces landlords to carry out a DPE, obligatory to sell or rent a property. “Usually, the month of December is calm but this time, we are seeing a real dynamic with owners who are wondering about carrying out a DPE,” reports Pascal Salewyn, co-founder of Kiwidiag, a platform which centralizes diagnosticians certified real estate to support individuals. However, this diagnosis has a cost for owners. And it is on the rise in 2024.
This is what the Kiwidiag study reveals after analyzing nearly 2,750 DPE prices collected on the three largest web reservation platforms in France (Kiwidiag, Allodiagnostic and Diagamter). The company noted an increase in prices of 4.82% last year for three-room apartments, or an average price of 180.54 euros. For a house with an area between 90 and 120 m2you will also have to pay on average 203 euros, compared to 191 euros in 2023 (+ 6.3%).
“The trend is identical to that of last year, with lower prices in large cities due to greater competition between diagnosticians,” comments Pascal Salewyn. The number of companies specializing in real estate diagnostics has indeed exploded in recent years, going from 5,300 in 2019 to 8,600 in 2023 (+ 62%). With some 11,500 diagnosticians now listed, competition has made it possible to contain the rise in prices in certain territories.
This is why the differences remain significant, with prices being up to 70% higher from one department to another. In Lot-et-Garonne, Corse-du-Sud or Bouches-du-Rhône, it costs on average nearly 140 euros for a DPE in an apartment, compared to around 243 euros in Haute-Vienne and Corrèze. Same dynamic for houses where Doubs, Haute-Vienne and Corrèze record the highest prices, around 260 euros compared to 153 euros in Lot-et-Garonne.
A correlation between supply and price which is not verified everywhere. In Finistère, “which has a large number of diagnosticians, […] the average price is higher than the national average,” adds the study.
After the publication of this study, representatives of professionals in the sector were quick to react to justify this price increase. According to the Alliance of Real Estate Diagnostics (grouping of FIDI and CDI), this situation is explained by the “strengthening of regulatory requirements” with regard to diagnosticians, we can read in a press release. More in-depth training, more regular renewal of certification, reinforced controls… Since the 1is September 2024, professionals must face new measures, decided by the executive to improve the accuracy of DPE reports, often criticized. “All these changes have a direct impact on our finances. The certification of a diagnostician, issued for seven years, previously cost around 12,000 euros, compared to 30,000 to 45,000 now,” reacted to Challenges Hassad Mouheb, president of one of the federations of diagnosticians, FED Experts.
This summer, industry players even predicted an increase in DPE prices of “10 to 15%” during 2024 to pass on this cost. If this increase is more moderate than initially planned, prices could continue to increase in 2025.
What about the establishment of a floor price to try to harmonize DPE prices across the entire territory as best as possible? Even if the Real Estate Diagnostic Alliance is opposed to this idea, the organization believes that thinking about pricing per square meter can be a solution to remedy this territorial disparity.
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