Last March, Thionville caused a national sensation by appearing as “the most profitable city in France” in the ranking published by the start-up Masteos, which specializes in turnkey rental investments. Attractive and increasingly expensive, the town of 41,000 inhabitants undeniably has a tense real estate environment. But the vast majority of buyers are not looking to speculate, but simply to find housing.
“The city is sought after for its proximity to Luxembourg, but also for its dynamism and its solid economic fabric. Prices have risen significantly, but the market remains healthy,” said Maître Aurélie Conradt, notary in Thionville.
Effervescence along the Moselle
To meet the demand for housing while limiting urban sprawl, the city launched a major urban project on the right bank of the Moselle. In the heart of the city, 1,300 housing units will be built on a 15-hectare site. The first deliveries are expected around the station, frequented by three million travelers every year.
On the left bank, the site of the former Etilam steel plant is expected, in the medium term, to house more than a thousand 4,000 m2 integrated housing units2 of shops and 7,000 m2 tertiary activities.
As part of the new urban renewal program, the Roses neighborhood is changing to the north of the city.
Pedestrianized, modernized and equipped with a dense and dynamic commercial platform, the city center (already very busy before the health crisis) has seen the price of its apartments increase by 10% in the last two years. The rise is even more dramatic for homes, where prices have sometimes risen by 40%.
“The old pavilions, well maintained and spread over five or six areas, have seen their price go from €320,000 to almost €500,000. The surge in the prices of these goods is linked to the new search criteria for post-Covid-19 buyers, mostly cross-border workers who wish to benefit from an individual pavilion and no longer live in collective housing. There is also an imbalance between supply and demand, which is more pronounced for pavilions than for other types of properties,” says Maître Conradt.
Luxembourg buyers
The phenomenon is certainly due to Covid-19, which has sharpened the desire for gardens, but also to the arrival of new buyers on the Thionville real estate market. Many Luxembourgers cross the border to settle on the French side, the price of real estate having become unaffordable for the grand-ducal bourgeoisie.
“Arriving on the Thionville real estate market with comfortable contributions, these buyers drove up prices, encouraging French cross-border workers to move to the Metz sector,” confirms Maître Conradt.
Indeed, the villages on the outskirts of Thionville are even more popular – and even more expensive – than in the heart of the agglomeration. In towns located near the Luxembourg border or near the A31 motorway, “commuting” couples commonly buy small new houses built on pocket handkerchiefs for €400,000.
In the event of divorce, notaries register more sales than actions: in such a particular context, it is rare that one spouse wants to acquire the share of the other.
