A recently published study by atHome Group reveals that the growth of property prices has decreased significantly since the beginning of the year.

"No region is spared", states the study by atHome Group, adding that the north and east of the country are "severely affected."

Analysing the numbers from the last six months shows that while housing prices are still rising, they have lost some of their momentum. In the Central region, the growth of existing property has halved, from 5,2% the previous semester to 2,6% over the last six months. In the North, it has dropped from a dizzying 13% to a mere 2,5%.

The property specialist does not predict a real estate crash, but rather a price stabilisation linked to a number of factors. The study argues that "the property market is under pressure", with the war in Ukraine, the pandemic and an interest rate hike all having an impact. The cost of new constructions has increased by 15 to 20 per cent over the last months, and this could well continue to rise, according to a developer who was interviewed for the study.

Interest rates reached 2.8% at the end of April. This means an additional 410 euros a month on an 800,000 euro mortgage over thirty years.

That said, there is still strong interest in buying property. The conclusion of the atHome study is confirmed by Julien Licheron, researcher at the LISER: "It is not very likely that prices will fall. [...] We are in a phase of price deceleration", he says, but "it seems unlikely that demand will drop below supply."