“We are not in a housing crisis but In a crisis of affordable housing,” stated the chambre immobilière in a response to economy minister Franz Fayot's remarks on RTL. Photo: Shutterstock

“We are not in a housing crisis but In a crisis of affordable housing,” stated the chambre immobilière in a response to economy minister Franz Fayot's remarks on RTL. Photo: Shutterstock

The Chambre immobilière reacted to economy minister Franz Fayot’s (LSAP) statement on RTL suggesting there should be a clamp down on real estate agency fees and called for cooperation with the private sector.

Fayot’s remarks referenced the 3% commission by real estate agents hinting that they contribute to the high housing prices. This drew criticism from the chambre immobilière which pointed towards fees of up to 6% in Germany or France in its argument that the blame laid elsewhere.

“Stop pointing the finger at us with your endless commissioned studies. Stop the polemics and start implementing a proactive housing policy. It amounts to populist and scapegoat politics to make voters believe that rising house prices are due to estate agents' commissions. We want to believe that the economy minister’s remarks were simply a slip of the tongue and we hope that he will rectify them quickly,” stated the Chambre immobilière in a press release.

Many agencies don’t charge a 3% fee because the rate is up for negotiation with the sellers. While in its statement the chamber also pointed to the abolishment of a law setting a cap of up to 3% fee in 2004.

The government in 2014 introduced a super-reduced 3% VAT rebate for individuals building or renovating their own home, upping costs for investors from 15% to 17%. This, too, was hailed as a solution for bringing down prices. However, this appears to have backfired as investors building to rent--with accommodation urgently needed--were incentivised to charge tenants more.

“We are not in a housing crisis but In a crisis of affordable housing,” stated the chambre immobilière.

The Chambre immobilière called for more cooperation with the private sector which it represents and for a change in the country’s housing policy.