At first glance, everything seemed to be in conformity. Beautiful exposure, recent insulation, excellent DPE in B. However, in July 2025, this 140 m² house on the edge of Montpellier received no offer. Not a single one. In question? A detail that has become major: a strict prohibition to water the garden and fill the swimming pool. The good, suddenly, no longer had the same flavor.
Is the diagnosis of energy performance (DPE), a long master stallion of the quality of a property, is losing ground? This is the opinion of several real estate professionals interviewed this summer. Faced with heat waves and repeated prefectural decrees, a new criterion is silent in silence in the heritage equation.
Real estate: the new “Crash Test” of summer 2025
It is no longer an epiphenomenon. In July and August 2025, more than 40 departments were subjected to water restrictions – A record according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Among the most common measures:
- Prohibition for the filling of private swimming pools
- Prohibition to water gardens between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
- Forced judgment of decorative or natural fountains
Result ? The goods that seemed perfectly calibrated for an outdoor life suddenly lose their attractiveness. A Carcassonne real estate agent says: “A house with dry garden, grilled lawn, empty swimming pool … It is no longer an southern dream, it’s a mirage. »»
When water becomes an eligibility criterion
What changes in 2025 is the anchoring over time. These restrictions, first experienced as punctual or local, are now seen as structural. Buyers ask new questions during visits:
- Is there a well or a rainwater reserve?
- Is the garden designed to support drought?
- Is the neighborhood often on drought alert?
“Solar orientation was the Grail in the South. Now these are water retention devices. “Some specialized platforms even start to offer” files ” Climate eligibility », Like a DPE but for water resilience.
The reverse of the Mediterranean dream
The south of France, long valued for its sweetness of life, comes up against a contradiction. This made its appeal – the dry climate, lush gardens, sparkling pools – today becomes a risk factor. In Provence, several agencies observe a slowdown in sales on so -called “too consumer” goods.
A house with 1,000 m² of lawn to water, without shadow or gutter? It can access 5 to 10 % compared to an equivalent house better thought for water autonomy. On the other hand, goods with recovery tanks, a drip system, or a dry garden Well appointed can seduce at first glance.
The “water” factor integrated into estimates
Experts confirm this: water becomes a criterion integrated into Real estate estimates. In the Tarn-et-Garonne, a couple of young buyers lowered the price by € 20,000 after learning that the municipality prohibited watering all summer. Conversely, a property in Aix-en-Provence equipped with an old well saw its price climbing 7 % on a visit, according to the returns of a local agency.
This shift is still informal, but it settles. “We are on the eve of a new rating typology. A resilient good for heat and drought will be better valued than the same badly prepared good. It is inevitable. »»
And after? Towards a new “water note”?
Several professional unions, including Fnaimplead today for the creation of an indicator complementary to the DPE: a label dedicated to water management. Clearly, a kind of “water note” taking into account:
- The presence of recovery solutions
- The type of vegetation (resistant or not)
- The level of exposure to drought risk
At a time when France accelerates its ecological transition, this approach finds an increasing echo among local elected officials, notaries, but also buyers. A house can be classified B to the DPE … but be totally dependent on a water network under tension every summer. And that, today, changes everything.
2025 marks a turning point. Water is invited into real estate reading grids. Not as secondary comfort, but as a decisive criterion of sustainability, use, pleasure of living. The dry garden is no longer a wisdom, but a sign of modernity. The forgotten well becomes a treasure. La Fontaine, a reasoned luxury.
While the market is reaching out for areas subject to restrictions, experts are unanimous: access to water becomes a valuation lever … or discount. And for the first time, he perhaps supplants this famous DPE so much feared.
Sources
- Ministry of Ecological Transition (August 2025) – “Drought point of situation and water use restrictions in France”
- FNAIM Observatory (July 2025) – “Real estate and climate change: towards a new valuation repository”
- Le Monde (July 2025) – “With drought, water becomes a leading real estate criterion”
- Best agents (June 2025) – “Impact of water restrictions on real estate sales: 2025 trends”
- Pretto (August 2025) – “Dry garden, water recovery: equipment that boosts the value of a property”
