Intelligent self-service AI and how to use it
One of the most remarkable developments in the digital revolution is, without doubt, artificial intelligence (AI). Among the various technologies, self-service…
The Market is going through a crisis, more severe than the financial crisis fifteen years ago, no other market in Europe that I’m aware of has been experiencing anything similar to Luxembourg in 2022/2023.
We can appreciate the phenomenon by analyzing the data published by the “LISER – Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research” on Transactions and Value of Houses and Apartments in the following chart:
the volume of Transactions in the last 12 months is at 7.5 K, has decreased by -33% in the last 7 quarters, is back at the same level as in 2009/2010.
the market value of those Transactions fell by 24% YoY from 8.1 B € to 6.2 B €.
this loss of 1.9 B € means that the commissions pool for the real estate agencies has shrunk by 58 M € in 1 year.
therefore, on average a real estate agency has experienced a negative impact of approximatively 72 K € or 3 Sales.
whereas larger agencies are usually better equipped financially to face challenging times, that could be more difficult for the smaller ones.
These data are consistent with the house loans, reported by the BCL at -43% YoY in Q1 2023.
We at Immotop.lu can rely on a very strong team of data scientists and data engineers that help us manage the data we collect with our listings.
In the following slide we can appreciate the price evolution in the last 9 quarters, a stable outlook with small adjustments: the average price per sqm is at 8.700 € in Q2/23, a decrease of -2.1% vs Q1/23, of -1.9% vs Q2/22 and an increase of +3.3% vs Q2/21.
Despite the market decline, the homeowners aren’t really prepared to ask for a significantly lower price, although anecdotally we know that at the negotiating table there could be room for offers well below the advertised value.
This picture doesn’t meaningfully change if you look at the announced data region by region, with an overall trend of stability in prices per sqm:
the Center Region has the highest average prices at 11.060 € / sqm.
the North Region has the lowest average prices at 6.122 € /sqm, but here the prices have increased by 12.8% over 2 years.
In Luxembourg City the prices are the same QoQ at 12.475 € / sqm :
the highest average prices are recorded in Belair at 14.412 € / sqm.
the lowest average prices in Beggen at 10.169 € / sqm.
It’s very important to us to keep track on the price difference of properties by energy class; specifically, the delta between class A and class G in the whole country is of 2.151 € / sqm.
In the big picture also the time to sell is quite stable: in Q2/23 vs Q1/23, respectively at 2.7 months vs 2.8 months; it has significantly increased vs Q2/22, when it was at 2.1 months; but decreased vs Q2/21 when it was at 3.2 months.
We’re seeing a significant increase in the number of listings on our website, since the customers are feeling uncertainty and prefer to think twice before making a purchase, preferring a transitory solution, like renting.
This change in customers' behavior has increased the demand for properties to rent, which has generated a countrywide increase in the average price over 2 years by 6%, from 23.7 to 25.1 € / sqm of houses and apartments for rent.
Some real estate agencies are taking advantage of this trend by shifting their focus on this market segment, but we need to remember that on average an agency needs to successfully rent 15 properties to have the same commission they get for 1 sale.
If you’re moving to Luxembourg you need to sort out 3 things first: accommodation, job and bank account, I can give you some tips on the first one.
Whether you’re living abroad, are among the 215K cross-border workers or a resident looking for a different housing solution, for the first time in the last 20+ years the market has turned from a sellers’ market into a buyers’ market, which means you have more power in the negotiation process and you have less competition in finding the property fitting your personal needs.
Living in Luxembourg is a beautiful experience, almost 50% of the population is foreign-born, a real melting pot of people, cultures and languages; compared to other European cities you have plenty of green spaces, the playgrounds for kids are the best in the world, open-air sports can be part of your daily routine and public transportation is free!
It’s an honor and a privilege for Immotop.lu to be working in partnership with Spuerkeess, the leading bank in Luxembourg. We started 4 years ago in July 2019, with banners, display and widgets on our website; in the last couple of years, we have intensified our collaboration with joint events and this strategic launch of an end-to-end connected flow to improve the users’ experience in financing the home of their dreams. We’re working to consolidate the mutual trust and the relationship with other projects that I hope will see the light very soon.
In the last 2 years we brought to market many improvements:
Our platform, our core, with a new search engine both on the website and in the app, that allows users to intuitively look for an accommodation with a very smooth search flow, a seamless UX.
We moved offices to a new location in Belvaux to better host our partners, the real estate agencies, organizing events and seminars with regularity to support them.
We launched Immotop Plus, offering a series of services, like 3D visualization, visit with drone, home staging… to offer our partners the option and opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Now with the mortgages in collaboration with Spuerkeess and a mortgage broker of our trust, we want to give all possible options to our customers, facilitating their process of financing their dream home.
We started from the users, the people visiting our website and app, asking ourselves 2 key questions “what do they need?”, “what is it important to them?”.Andrea Maramotti
We’ve identified 3 clusters, 3 main users’ behaviors, that need to find a solution in our marketplace, with the offer best suited for them.
To simplify we have 3 main customer personas:
First “the residents”, comfortable with the country and its institutions, that can easily and seamlessly finance their property goal.
Second “the non-residents”, working in Luxembourg and living the neighboring region, who need to have comfortably access to financing possibilities for real estate’s even in their local area.
Third “the expats”, the people less used to the Luxembourgish system, accustomed to different way of getting served, that prefer to have an advisor assisting them in the process of looking for the best financing offer.
Now it’s a good time to buy or at least to consider buying, after 20+ years the market has turned into a buyers’ market, where customers have more leverage, can better negotiate and have less competition for their dream home.
When you’re looking for your dream home you’re making a key decision in your life, therefore you need to be prepared. It’s crucial to establish your own criteria, the parameters that are important to you. We at Immotop.lu can help you with the search, in structuring your thought process.
The easiest way to search, and this is a feature unique to Immotop.lu in Luxembourg, is by selecting on the map your main point of interest, it could be where you work, your kids’ school, your favorite sporting facility or entertainment area… From that point of interest, you can select your preferred way of moving around (walking, cycling, driving) and the transit time that is suitable for your needs: just as example you might want to live at 15 minutes driving distance from where you work.
Obviously, you can also draw the area on the map, selecting your favorite part of the country or the neighborhoods you’re picturing yourself living in.
Once you’ve selected your area of interest Immotop.lu can help you refine your search by giving additional inputs like the budget at disposal, the surface you need, the type of property (house or apartment), whether you need a garden, a parking…
For the budget pay attention to the Spuerkeess calculator on every listing on Immotop.lu, it’s a tremendous help.
It’s a very exciting, intuitive process that will lead you to identify the perfect place for you!
At Immotop.lu we’re working tirelessly to continuously get better, we’re very aware of the new AI developments and will integrate all meaningful improvements in our platform.