For over 20 years, the Housing Observatory has been creating, collecting and analysing housing-related data in order to support public policy reforms and inform debates on the property market and housing conditions in Luxembourg and neighbouring countries. A unit of the Luxembourg Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, the Observatory was established in 2003 and collaborates with LISER on its work. The Observatory's activities are organised around three core objectives: creating, collecting and centralising housing data; analysing the data and information gathered to inform public action; and disseminating data and research findings.
Its work covers several thematic areas:
- monitoring property transactions, prices, rents and land markets;
- observing changes in land availability and the housing stock;
- analysing private financing, production and ownership strategies in property and land markets;
- examining households’ living conditions;
- developing, functioning and evaluating affordable housing;
- interactions between housing and the environment;
- evaluating housing policies.
In continuous dialogue with public authorities, the Observatory combines various data sources, such as geospatial data, remote sensing, administrative records, surveys, interviews, focus groups and social network analysis, and uses both quantitative methods (such as hedonic models, microsimulation and descriptive statistics) and qualitative approaches (such as the Delphi method and discourse analysis) to provide an essential evidence base for strategic planning and informed decision-making.
