The median price of buying a house in the grand duchy was €1,218,614 or €6,577 per square metre, going down by 2.42% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.  Photo: Nader Ghavami.

The median price of buying a house in the grand duchy was €1,218,614 or €6,577 per square metre, going down by 2.42% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.  Photo: Nader Ghavami.

Median prices for houses and apartments in Luxembourg went down by 2.42% and 3.91% respectively in the first trimester of 2022, according to data by Immotop, but the capital kept a slightly upward trend.

The platform for real estate advertisements released statistics on its listing for the beginning of the year indicating the capital’s position as the most expensive place to live in is fortifying.

The median price of buying a house in the grand duchy was €1,218,614 or €6,577 per square metre, going down by 2.42% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Acquiring an apartment would set buyers back by an average of €805,169 or €10,224 per square metre, indicating a decrease of 3.91% to previous quarter.

Luxembourg City however proved to be an outlier from this general trend with house prices going up to €2,107,973 or €9,733 per square metre--an increase of 1.42%. Immotop evaluated the median cost of apartments in the capital to €937,224 or €13,625 per square metre--up by 1.5%.

The number of real estate postings has increased to 6,049 for houses and 13,439 for apartments marking a 236% and 220% increase, respectively, compared to the last quarter of 2021. Again, Luxembourg City is moving against the current with 446 houses advertised and 4,229 apartments put up for sale, resulting in a 8.42% and a 7.78% decrease, respectively.  

Bertrange pipped Luxembourg City to the top spot of the most expensive houses a median price of €10,439 per square metre compared to €9,944 for the capital. Steinsel, Walferdange and Mersch found themselves just below.

Appartment prices were the highest in Luxembourg City, however, with €13,513 per square metre. Those in Bertrange were evaluated at an average of €12,701 per square metre. Kehlen, Mamer and Steinsel were the other three most expensive zones to buy an apartment in.

Houses were the cheapest in Rambrouch according to Immotop, with prices averaging at €2,453 per square metre. Esch-sur-Sûre, Wiltz, Pétange and Differdange were the other affordable zones to buy a house.

Meanwhile, the cheapest apartments can be found in Käerjeng with an average price of €6,655 per square metre. Wiltz, Pétange, Differdange and Kayl were identified by Immotop as the other parts of the country where appartments cost the least.

The construction of new housing units (new constructions), certain shops or activities with a strong potential for attractiveness contribute to the rapid growth of the value of market prices in a municipality, the platform said.

The from national statistics office Statec in March showed that real estate prices rose 13.9% in 2021, compared to 14.5% the year before.