Fewer sales

Great wait and see on the Vorarlberg real estate market

High interest rates and stricter lending regulations have not only led to a drastic decline in construction activity in Vorarlberg. The sale of properties has also come to a standstill: Whereas in the past, properties changed hands within a few weeks, the marketing period is now six months or more.

However, Christian Hagspiel, Managing Director of "s Real Vorarlberg", did not have too much good news for potential buyers at the presentation of the new Real Estate Guide: "Neither a sustained fall in prices nor a significant reduction in key interest rates are in sight for the time being."

However, one or two bargains could still be found. "There are slight price movements in most regions, especially for high-priced properties and inexpensive, used apartments and houses up to 350,000 euros," Hagspiel said.

Christian Hagspiel points to a decline in transactions in the districts of Bludenz, Feldkirch and Bregenz.(Bild: Sparkasse Dornbirn)

Significantly fewer properties are being sold - a look at the land register transactions also shows this. If you compare the first ten months of 2022 with those of 2023, real estate transactions fell by a whopping 44.4 percent. The transaction volume has fallen by 47.44 percent.

Dornbirn with an exceptional position
However, as the experts at "s Real Immobilien" emphasize, there are significant regional differences: While significantly fewer transactions were carried out in the districts of Bregenz, Feldkirch and Bludenz, the decline in purchases and sales in the district of Dornbirn was significantly lower. The average price even increased by around three percent. "This could suggest that more properties in the luxury segment changed hands in and around the city of Dornbirn," suspects Christian Hagspiel.

This is in complete contrast to the result in the district of Bludenz, where the transaction volume fell by 64.44% and the transaction price decreased by 33.23%. This is also a sign that fewer high-priced apartments and houses came onto the market.

Martina Hirsch expects the market to normalize again over the course of the year.(Bild: Dornbirner Sparkasse)

As far as future developments are concerned, Martina Hirsch, Managing Director of "s REAL" and second Managing Director of "s REAL Vorarlberg", expects the real estate market to return to some degree of normality in 2024: "People usually adapt quite quickly to the circumstances and will find opportunities to buy property." Overall, the current situation is actually quite advantageous for property seekers, as they can look around the market without having to make hasty decisions.