Favorable terms of credit for energy efficient buildings
Region: City of Piteå
Implemented on: Local level
Target group: Building owners
Summary:
Piteå municipality is developing a specific area Furunäset/Lusthusbacken for highly energy efficient houses. In this context, Sparbanken Nord in Piteå is testing favourable terms of credit for house builders who want to invest in houses there. This has to be seen against the background, that building prices are relatively high in Sweden compared to other European countries. Property loans for private persons must not exceed 85% of the economic value of the building, while the rest of the purchase price should be covered by own funds. But in specific cases, so in this case, even an additional loan can be given.
Objectives:
- Contributing to the local energy plan and the concrete model project;
- To test specific offers with favourable terms of credits for highly efficient house projects with higher building costs but lower operating costs;
- To bundle customer’s financial related operations at Sparbanken.
Funding/Costs:
Bank loan given by bank for house builder.
Results:
- An innovative offer for investors at Lusthusbacken in Piteå which is designed with a specific focus on higher building costs but lower operating costs;
- Awareness raising regarding energy and climate issues for the public;
- No final evaluation done yet.
Lessons learnt:
- It was difficult to justify favourable conditions for investors;
- A driver for this model was the bank’s interest in getting a better understanding on how highly energy efficient buildings influence household’s economy in the longer run, and what this means for a funding institution.
- There is a high interest in the model and its implications, both from house builders and from institutions.