Brussels, (Brussels Morning) – Compared to the first months of 2021, the price of houses in Brussels has fallen by 2 percent, from an average of 544,021 to 532,885 euros. This is apparent from the quarterly Real Estate Barometer of the Federation of Notaries. “The rest of the Brussels real estate market started the year rather stable.”
Brussels follows inflation, the general price increase of about 8 percent, so currently not on the housing market. For houses, the price dropped significantly. Taking inflation into account, the notary federation estimates that the drop of 2 percent in real terms is even worth 8.5 percent. The price drop in Brussels is striking compared to Flanders, where the price for a house rose by 6.8 percent in the first quarter. Brussels remains by far the most expensive region.
With the current lifespan in mind, civil-law notary Bart Van Opstal of the Royal Federation of the Belgian Notariat does qualify the effect of the price drop for Brussels residents. “Due to the pandemic and the current economic circumstances, the price of expensive real estate is falling in particular,” said one resident to BRUZZ.
“People are currently afraid to invest.” It is the investment fear of wealthy people that explains the general fall in prices for homes in Brussels. In other words: the average buyer or investor will not notice the drop so much.
Stable
The average price of apartments stabilises in Brussels at around 270,000 euros. This corresponds to the situation in the rest of our country. Taking into account the current inflation, the notaries speak of a decrease for the whole of Belgium (after all, apartments are becoming cheaper compared to other goods, and wages are rising due to indexation, ed.).
Real estate activity in Brussels was also stable in the first quarter. This means that the number of transactions remained more or less the same. That was slightly different for Flanders in January. One reason, according to Van Opstal: the new, lower registration fees. “Many Flemish people decided to postpone their real estate purchase to early 2022 with that in mind.” This was followed by a slight cooling of the market.
