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ING News
Luxembourg, 04/02/2020
Is saving to buy a house a priority in Luxembourg ?
Interestingly, saving to buy a property is only one of many priorities for Luxembourg residents.
- For 8 in 10 people in Luxembourg, it’s better to own than to rent
- 74% of Luxembourg residents who do not own a property fear taking on a lot of debt
- 89% of Luxembourg residents who do not own a property are put off by high property prices
- 90% of Luxembourg residents expect prices to rise
Debt is a major concern among home owners
Fear of taking on a lot of debt is still very prevalent for people in Luxembourg. According to the latest Homes and Mortgages International Survey from ING, 74% of those surveyed that presently rent and have never owned agree that this fear is discouraging them from buying property. Taking on large amounts of debt to buy a home is one of the biggest concerns among Luxembourg residents, with the percentage of those agreeing that the fear of debt is a major concern prevalent at any age.
Also one of the top reasons why residents are concerned about debt are the perceived high property prices on the market, with 89% of those surveyed agreeing that it has put them off buying.
Shifting priorities are linked to ownership challenges
The survey demonstrates that home ownership remains an important financial and personal goal, 8 in 10 Luxembourg residents agree that it is better to own than to rent, at least financially, and many have a never-faltering view of future ownership benefits, with 90% expecting housing prices to continue rising in the next 12 months.
Yet, it seems like in Luxembourg, as in other European countries, saving to buy a house is just one of many pressures placed upon household finances. People seem to stretch themselves in order to achieve both, short term goals like having enough money to pay for travel and fun hobbies, as well as saving enough to cover the costs of having children or saving for an own home.
Question: Which is more important to you right now?
Getting on the property ladder remains hard and 86% of the people believe that it is increasingly hard for first-time buyers to buy a house. This might result in a frustration that makes people procrastinate when it comes to saving for a long term goal such as saving for a new home.
Most residents still agree that being a home owner is better than renting
An increasing percentage of Luxembourg residents declare that their country is not on a helpful trend when it comes to housing. This percentage has increased for the third year running from 49% in 2017 to 65% in 2019. The most commonly highlighted reason for this pessimistic view on the market is that residents believe that buying housing isn’t affordable for most people today. Whereas for the people believing that housing is on the right path in Luxembourg, they are 69% to believe that housing is a good investment.
ING International Survey
In the context of the ING International Survey, the ING Group surveyed a thousand residents in 13 European countries (as well as Australia and the USA) about their attitude and expected standard of living on retirement. It is apparent from this survey that a care-free retirement seems financially beyond the reach of a number of Luxembourg residents.
The ING International Survey is conducting larger surveys of this kind in Europe, with a view to developing a better understanding of how people spend, save and invest their money.
About the ING International Survey
The ING International Survey is produced several times a year by ING eZonomics. It is about money and life - combining ideas around financial education, personal finance and behavioural economics to produce regular and practical information about the way people manage their money - and how this can affect consumers' lives.
ING profile
Operating in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg since 1960, ING is a universal and accessible bank with well-developed and user-friendly digital channels, appreciated by our retail, private and wholesale banking customer base, as well as a more personal contact through our network of branches. With over 100,000 customers, ING is one of Luxembourg’s top 5 banks and one of the country’s top 10 brands (source: 2018 KPMG Luxembourg Customer Experience Excellence Report).
Our aim is to empower people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. We believe the role of a financial institution is to support and promote economic, social and environmental progress at the same time as it generates healthy returns for shareholders.
Always at the cutting edge as regards digitisation, we were the first high-street bank to launch an online account in Luxembourg. With over 800 employees in the Grand Duchy (700 of whom are at our head office: ING Lux House) and thanks to the combination of our local presence and the strength of a robust multinational like ING, we offer our personal and business customers a wide range of solutions through the channel of their choice.
We actively contribute to the growth of the local economy, as demonstrated by the significant rise (+16%) in lending volumes during 2017. Our mortgage portfolio continued growing in 2017 (+15%), breaking the EUR 2 billion barrier for the first time. On both sides of our balance sheet, we posted double-digit growth (+18%) in 2017, reaching EUR 18.5 billion.
For more information, please contact:
ING LU Press Office
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L-1616 Luxembourg
T: + 352 44 99 1 – E: pressoffice@ing.lu