High Energy Prices Fuel Renovation Boom Across Europe

The European Central Bank (ECB) has reported that high energy prices have driven households to invest in energy-related renovations, increasing economic resilience and reducing broader inflation pressures across the region.

According to an ECB blog by Senior Economist Marco Weissler and Economist Desislava Rusinova, surging energy costs led to a wave of renovation activity, cushioning the impact of energy shocks on the building and construction sector.

The authors argue that these investments reduced the building sector's dependence on fossil fuels in the long term, increasing its resilience to energy-driven price and confidence shocks.