Europe's most expensive housing, in actual numbers.

By Nick · Europe Unlocked · Every figure sourced to an official body and dated.

Luxembourg property makes Boston look reasonable. But the market just lived through its first real correction in decades, the state hands buyers a €40,000 tax credit, and the gap between the capital and everywhere else is enormous. Here's the data — STATEC and the Ministry of Housing, not listing-site hype.

What buying costs, by market

STATEC and the Ministry of Housing's Observatoire de l'Habitat publish quarterly registered-sale statistics — actual notarised prices, not asking prices. The picture as of the latest full data:

Translate that: a 90 m² (970 sq ft) two-bedroom runs about €728,000 at the national average and about €1.09 million in the capital — before the 7% duty. Houses cost more. Outside the capital's commuter belt — the south around Esch-sur-Alzette, the Moselle, and especially the rural north — prices drop substantially; see Where to Live.

The correction, and where the market sits now

Luxembourg's long boom broke in 2022 when rates rose: prices fell 9.1% in 2023 and 5.2% in 2024 — the sharpest correction on record — then turned up 1.6% in 2025. By Q4 2025 the overall index was essentially flat year-on-year (+0.1%), which STATEC reads as stabilisation. Existing apartments in Luxembourg City ended roughly 11% below their 2022 peak; some towns were down as much as 18%.

Renting: the numbers and the small print

Advertised apartment rents averaged about €1,768/month nationally and €1,902/month in Luxembourg City in Q1 2025 (Observatoire de l'Habitat, based on asking rents — contract rents can differ). Kirchberg, Limpertsberg and Belair carry the steepest per-square-metre asking rents in the capital; Bonnevoie and the Gare district are the value end of the city.

Practical points for newcomers: landlords routinely ask for a deposit (commonly up to three months' rent), proof of income, and — the circular problem — arriving foreigners are asked for bank guarantees precisely when they have no Luxembourg bank history. Start the bank account early, and expect agency involvement in most listings.

Every cost of buying, itemised

• Registration duty + transcription: 7% of the purchase price (6% + 1%).
• Bëllegen Akt tax credit: up to €40,000 per buyer (€80,000 for a couple) deducted from those duties when the property is your principal residence — you commit to living in it for at least 2 years. The notary applies it at signing; the scheme was made permanent in July 2025. On a €800,000 purchase, a couple's duty falls from €56,000 to €0 (credit capped at duties owed).
• Notary fees: fixed scale on top; the notary is a neutral state officer, not your lawyer.
• Mortgage costs if financing — Luxembourg banks lend to residents, but new arrivals without local income history face tougher terms; budget a larger down payment.
• No annual property-tax shock: Luxembourg's communal property tax (impôt foncier) is famously low — typically tens to a few hundred euros a year, though a reform has been debated for years.

The dollar comparison

At €1 = $1.14 (1 July 2026), the national average of €8,094/m² is about $857 per square foot — comparable to Manhattan or central Toronto, in a country of 691,000 people. The capital's ~€12,106/m² is roughly $1,280 per square foot. That is the honest headline: Luxembourg pays Europe's highest salaries and prices its housing accordingly. If your income is a North American pension, run the cost-of-living numbers before falling for the fairy-tale old town.