On Thursday 16 July 2026, real estate services company JLL published its review of Luxembourg's office market for the first six months of the year.
In the report, JLL noted that the first six months of 2026 was a period marked by volatility, uncertainty and concerns over economic conditions and financing.
Office take-up declines
JLL remarked that general volatility and multiple uncertainties — both geopolitical and economic — have weighed on business confidence and stated that the impact on occupier demand for office space is clearly visible in Luxembourg.
According to JLL, take-up fell by 50% to 51,789 m², and the average transaction size dropped from 1,035 m² over the 2021–2025 period to 602 m² in H1 2026. Financial institutions dominated activity, accounting for 31% of total take-up, although the largest transaction of the year was the acquisition by Hôpitaux Robert Schuman of nearly 7,000 m² in the Rock office project at Cloche d'Or.
"The first half confirms a slowdown in demand, against an uncertain economic and geopolitical backdrop. A number of larger transactions are under discussion for the second half of the year, particularly with financial institutions and business services companies, but caution is likely to remain the order of the day," said Jonathan Morand, Head of Office Agency at JLL Luxembourg.
Vacancy remains at record lows
JLL said in the absence of new speculative completions, vacancy in Luxembourg remains well below the European average of around 9.5%. Its estimate at end-June 2026 stands at 3.6%, down from 3.9% at end-2025, and anticipates a modest increase by year-end, notably due to large-scale deliveries expected in Hamm.
Rents rising across several submarkets
As a consequence of this very limited availability, the real estate services company noted that rents are once again on an upward trend.
"The relatively constrained supply of new office projects is putting rents under pressure — but that is not the only explanation," noted Pierre-Paul Verelst, Head of Research BeLux at JLL.
While no official statistics exist for construction costs in the commercial real estate sector, JLL said the residential construction cost index provides a useful indicator of the trend. According to the latest STATEC survey published earlier this year, construction costs rose by 39% between 2020 and 2025. Energy efficiency requirements carry a cost that is progressively being passed on to tenants through higher rents.
In this context, JLL reported that prime rents reached a new record in the CBD at €55 / m² / month (+1.8%), achieved at The Henri building on Boulevard du Prince Henri. For JLL, the key development of the first half of the year is the confirmation of prime rent convergence across Cloche d'Or, Gare and Kirchberg. In all three submarkets, prime rents now stand at €43 per m² per month (excl. VAT). This level has now also been reached at Cloche d'Or, representing an annual increase of 4.9%, while other submarkets remain unchanged.
Investment: a difficult start to the year
Over the first six months of the year, JLL recorded an investment volume of €292 million, down 49%. Approximately 41% of this total represents the sale of The Rock building for €120 million. A notable transaction was the sale of the B&B Hotel Cloche d'Or to British institutional investor Aberdeen, in which JLL acted as the buyer’s representative.
