Typical small streets, bars, restaurants and shops, all close to the city center. In Strasbourg, it’s hard not to know the Krutenau district. Only the Ill river separates it from the famous cathedral and the place is known for its quality of life. Its “village spirit” where everything is accessible in the heart of the metropolis.
“It’s just beautiful, practical and super pleasant”, sums up Carole de Fraipont, who has lived and wandered there “for about twenty years”. Always with the same pleasure. “Maybe I’m a contemplative, but architecturally, the charm still operates. And the illuminations on the quays, winter is magnificent… ”
All these advantages, linked to active urban renewal, have not gone unnoticed. The “Krut ‘” is currently in the midst of gentrification. Real estate prices confirm this. From June 2020 to June 2021, according to the Chamber of Notaries of Bas-Rhin, the median selling price of apartments increased by… 16%! This is more than any other district of the Alsatian capital, even the famous Petite France (+ 10.1%).
“The apartments are sometimes torn apart”
Why such an increase? “It has been going up for years”, tempers a real estate agent from the start, summing up the trend by “the law of supply and demand”. To know that the goods are rare in the area, especially the 5 rooms, and their search always stronger. All the more since the release of the first confinement, to believe one of his sisters.
“With the crisis and by uncertainty of tomorrow, many people said to themselves that they were going to repatriate their marbles in stone, that is to say a safe investment at all times”, explains Aline Huguet, from Bartholdi-Orpi. “Since there is a lot of money in Alsace, apartments have sometimes been torn up. I even have customers who have bought without seeing. “
All of this automatically led to a price spike. Today, a three-room apartment in good condition cannot be traded “below 300,000 euros”, according to professionals in the sector. Notaries estimate the median price per square meter at 4,490 euros, which means everything and nothing. “For a studio, it can go up to 7,000 euros but this is a special case,” said Florian Peraldi.
“At the time, it was bad news”
The managing director of the Pauli & Peraldi real estate company has seen the neighborhood change significantly since his first building purchases some twenty years ago. “I remember at the time it was bad news. It was a cut throat! There was also a bus station, it was noisy. Now it has become bohemian chic, ”he explains, exaggerating a bit. “Today, a couple of workers can no longer buy there, I even think that having 3,000 euros of income together is not enough. “
How high can these rates go up? Not much higher, according to real estate agents and notaries. They believe that “the tightening of loan conditions” could slow the market everywhere. “I am not Mrs. Irma but there will be a shear effect between wages and real estate prices. At one point, people will no longer be able to go higher, ”concludes Florian Peraldi.