What if the answer to Luxembourg’s current property crisis lay with cross-border professionals who also work on the French side?
The Grand Duchy’s property market is going through an unprecedented crisis. For years, supply falling short of demand meant ever-rising prices, certainly, but they were offset by rock-bottom bank rates. The vitality of the Luxembourg economy was reflected in a high volume of transactions and ever more building starts, both apartment blocks and individual homes.
The health crisis and then the war in Ukraine (rising energy and raw material prices, a collapse in medium-term financial visibility) have undermined that model. Owners are reluctant to lower their asking prices, banks are far harder to convince when it comes to granting a loan, and lending rates themselves have soared, rising on average from 1.5% to 4.25% or 4.5%… The turmoil is hitting the industry: developers record withdrawals every day, and some agencies whose turnover has collapsed are laying off staff or closing their doors.
As for prospective buyers, they are shelving their plans and waiting for better days…
Luxembourg residents choosing France
Does that mean sinking into outright pessimism? No. If you were set on becoming a homeowner, there are alternatives.
You simply need to widen your view and think about France — in this case northern Lorraine (the Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle departments), a band running from Longwy to Sierck-les-Bains via Thionville. The supply of property there remains plentiful, with prices that are still reasonable (and broadly well below those seen in Luxembourg). Add to that lower borrowing rates and, in terms of transport, road and rail links that are better than they were 5 or 10 years ago…
And if you don’t buy in France, you can still borrow from a… French bank. As long as your employment situation and the guarantees your application offers meet the institution’s standards, there is nothing to stop you. For the time being, rates in France have not caught up with those in the Grand Duchy, sitting slightly above the 3% mark.
The ideal, however, is to turn to professionals who specialise in this type of transaction, both legally and financially. That is the case with Lux Kredit, a brokerage firm based in Frisange. These experts have built up trusted relationships on both sides of the border. They can support your property project in the Grand Duchy or in France through a Luxembourg or a French bank, and can also win over lenders willing, for example, to spread repayment over more than 30 years.
Seasoned brokers, thoroughly familiar with the property market on both sides of the border and with the banks operating on either side, the professionals at Lux Kredit have everything it takes to become your partners of choice in this change of life. Crisis? What crisis?
