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Should commercial mortgage lenders care about energy efficiency? Lessons from a pilot study

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  • Mathew, Paul
  • Issler, Paulo
  • Wallace, Nancy

Abstract

Commercial mortgage underwriting practices currently do not fully account for energy risks to net operating income (NOI), especially changes in energy costs over the course of a mortgage term. This paper first introduces two metrics that can be used to characterize the increase in default risk due to increases in energy costs during a mortgage term: decrease in debt service coverage ratio (ΔDSCR); and increase in probability of default (ΔDP). Both these metrics were designed to be simple to calculate, utilizing data that are already being collected in loan applications. Next, we present results from a pilot study on the application of these metrics to five loans from three lenders. The results show that energy risks can vary between different properties and across different years within a given property, due to variations in energy usage. All three lenders concurred that these results suggest energy risks can in fact be material, and affirmed the metrics are a viable approach to incorporate energy risk analysis into mortgage underwriting. The policy implications include energy cost disclosure in loan applications; and incentives such as lower interest rates for energy efficient buildings and additional loan proceeds to improve efficiency and lower energy costs.

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  • Mathew, Paul & Issler, Paulo & Wallace, Nancy, 2021. "Should commercial mortgage lenders care about energy efficiency? Lessons from a pilot study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:150:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521000069
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112137
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Piet Eichholtz & Nils Kok & John M. Quigley, 2013. "The Economics of Green Building," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 50-63, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Luiz de Mello, 2023. "Real Estate in a Post-Pandemic World: How Can Policies Make Housing More Enviromentally Sustainable and Affordable?," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 244(1), pages 111-139, March.
    2. Justin Contat & Caroline Hopkins & Luis Mejia & Matthew Suandi, 2023. "When Climate Meets Real Estate: A Survey of the Literature," FHFA Staff Working Papers 23-05, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
    3. Vilija Aleknevičien&# & Asta Bendoraityt&#, 2023. "Role of Green Finance in Greening the Economy: Conceptual Approach," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2023(2), pages 105-130.
    4. Lai, Yuan & Papadopoulos, Sokratis & Fuerst, Franz & Pivo, Gary & Sagi, Jacob & Kontokosta, Constantine E., 2022. "Building retrofit hurdle rates and risk aversion in energy efficiency investments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).

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