On Tuesday 21 July 2026, Luxembourg's Housing Observatory (Observatoire de l'habitat), under the supervision of the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, published Note No. 49, examining the residential criteria households consider most important when choosing a home.
According to the study, the analysis is based on data from the Affordable Housing in Luxembourg survey (2023) and includes only households that reported having been able to choose the characteristics of their dwelling. The findings show that four factors were considered the most important by respondents: the size of the dwelling (86% of households), the affordability of the purchase price or rent (84%), the availability of a parking space (81%), and the brightness and orientation of the dwelling (80%).
The study notes that these criteria reflect values related to comfort, affordability and well-being. It also found that the importance attached to the availability of a parking space indicates a continued attachment, or even dependence, on private cars, a finding considered relevant to discussions on the planning of residential neighbourhoods. Regarding location, respondents expressed a preference for living close to green spaces or fields, but not necessarily in low-density neighbourhoods. According to the report, this finding is relevant in the current context of the debate on residential densification and its acceptability.
The report also identified differences in the ranking of residential choice criteria between young adults (aged nineteen to 35) and people aged 56 and over, between tenants and homeowners, and between households with and without children. Older people, couples with children and homeowners were more likely to report having sought a house with a garden and a low-density environment.
The analysis is complemented by a geographical representation of residential choice criteria. Luxembourg Canton stands out from the rest of the country, with residents perceiving it as offering greater opportunities to live in lively, well-located neighbourhoods close to workplaces, public transport and local amenities.
Finally, the study includes a ranking of housing attributes based on property advertisements published in Luxembourg in 2025. Terraces, balconies and loggias were among the most frequently mentioned features, appearing in 70% of apartment sale advertisements, 50% of house sale advertisements and 70% of house rental advertisements. More generally, advertisements for rental apartments contained relatively few attributes beyond price and floor area and were generally less detailed than those for houses, suggesting that the two housing types target different categories of tenants.
In conclusion, the Housing Observatory proposes using households' residential choice criteria to guide the development of residential projects, comparing the characteristics of completed housing with households' stated residential preferences, and applying the automated text analysis method tested in this study to other Housing Observatory research, where appropriate.
The full report (in French) is available on logement.lu: Note No. 49.
