SUSTAINABLE RETROFITTING AND REAL ESTATE VALUE OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

The paper puts forward the idea of relaunching the Italian real estate industry by introducing financial models that take into account the "sustainability" of the project.The instrument herein proposed is the “Green Mortgage” (EEM), or credit lines that are sensitive to energy certification. They were developed for the American market and are designed to support the quality, “green” building products around which there revolve jobs, consumptions, and savings. They also serve as an opportunity to feed the market with more mature and informed financial systems. Italy has the necessary conditions to develop a housing market along this line. This paper aims at analyzingthe real opportunitiesfor infusing new life into the real estate industry by means of a hypothetical urban regeneration policy applied to residential buildings according to “green” criteria. This policy ought to embrace the interests of both banks and the public administration, since both players can play a remarkable role in the recovery of the construction industry in Italy.