Brussels has historically been Belgium's most expensive region for housing. The prices of some properties, however, are well above average.
The Brussels-Capital Region is the most expensive in Belgium . The average cost of a house is €555,000, over €200,000 more than the average for Belgium. It therefore comes as little surprise that two of the five most expensive properties on sale in Belgium this year, according to Immoweb's annual retrospective of the country's real estate offer, were located in Brussels.
"This study specifically looks at the absolute price of extraordinary properties," an Immoweb economist specialized in the Belgian real estate market, Jonathan Frisch, told The Brussels Times. "We don't take them into account when calculating regional averages because they are so expensive."
The leading property is a 443 square meters (m2) house in Waregem, West Flanders, which sold for €16.5 million. It was followed by two Brussels properties: one in Etterbeek going for €13.5 million and a villa in Uccle, sold for €12.5 million. Completing the top five are two houses in Knokke-Heist, dubbed the Belgian Riviera , costing €11.8 million and €11.5 million, respectively.
In all three regions, the most expensive apartments are located in cities. For houses, the location is less defining, because the housing types differ more. "These range from a villa to a refurbished Maisons de maître or farm and even castles," Frisch explained.
Situation in Brussels
The most expensive property in Brussels – located in Etterbeek – is a 2,400 m2 house, which is significantly larger than most properties in the region. It has more than five bedrooms, a terrace and a parking spot, all factors which tend to drive up the value of a property . The Uccle house in second place is 1,450 m2, has more than five rooms and a parking spot.
In third place is a house of almost 2,000 m2, located in Ixelles, costing €9 million. It is followed by two homes in the City of Brussels.
"These are really big properties – that is not the norm in Brussels. They are also mostly located in southern municipalities, which are generally the more expensive municipalities."
When it comes to the most expensive apartments, the leader is located in Auderghem, costing €5.5 million. "The number one is a big penthouse, which is not surprising," said Frisch. "These tend to be valued higher than apartments on lower floors."
Most popular municipalities
Immoweb also researched the most popular municipalities. It did not only take into account which municipalities had the most views on its real estate platform. "We also accounted for the fact that some municipalities are bigger, so they have more listings."
For example, Uccle is one of Brussels' biggest municipalities: if only total clicks were included, it would be named the most popular municipality. "We divided the clicks by the number of properties on offer, giving us a better idea of market tension," he said.
Both for flats and houses, municipalities in the north – where property tends to be cheaper – are among the most popular. "On the other hand, municipalities in the south are also represented. We are probably looking at different segments of people here."
Most popular municipalities, with flats in green and houses in blue. Calculation based on the ratio of clicks per classified ad to the number of published classified ads in each neighborhood. Credit: Immoweb
Some municipalities attract people looking for houses as well as apartments, like Jette, which is overall more affordable. Some municipalities such as Saint-Gilles and Etterbeek, where houses are less affordable, are mainly popular among flat-hunters.
"This means that both the usual, more expensive suspects in the south are among the most trendy areas, but also some more affordable ones where people can find more affordable properties, relatively speaking."
