Belgium's housing market begins to cool after earlier price increases
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Loading... - Rosie Payne
- 04 Jan 2022
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“In 2020, the pandemic caused a slowdown in the real estate market. This was not the case in 2021,” Belgium’s notary office explained in a press release.
“In the first nine months of 2021, the number of transactions in our country increased by 20.4% compared to 2020,” said Notary Bart van Opstal, spokesperson for Notaris.be.
“This strong growth slowed down in the last quarter, resulting in a growth of +14,3% at the end of the year. Compared to 2019, real estate activity in our country increased by +10.4%.”
The pandemic effect
Van Opstal says that the slowdown is “a first, cautious indication” that the price increases in the cheapest segment are gradually coming to an end.
That “cheapest segment” generally regards homes without gardens or terraces, which became more in-demand during the lockdowns associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Because there is less demand for this type of housing, prices are falling. This trend is likely to continue in 2022.”
Differences by region
Flanders saw the most growth in activity when the market heated up (+14.7%), followed closely by Wallonia at +14.3%. The effect wasn’t as great in Brussels, however, where homes with gardens are scarce.
The real estate market there saw its growth limited at +11.1%.
Flanders is now seeing the greatest cooldown with real estate activity dropping 4.4%, compared to 2.7% on a national level.
“In the second half of 2021, the Belgian real estate market was therefore somewhat less busy,” van Opstal said.
“We also saw the same trend in the three regions. The fact that the market is cooling down a bit means that there is again a bit more balance between supply and demand, between buyers and sellers.” Read More…
