While Brussels rental prices increased by almost 10% in 2023, the increase was tempered last year as prices rose by 5% in 2024, according to the Confederation of Real Estate Professions (CIB).
"Still a significant increase, which indicates that the pressure on the Brussels rental market has not diminished yet," said the CIB on Wednesday at the presentation of the Rental Barometer for Brussels.
According to CIB, the inflation shock of 2022 and 2023 has now largely been digested but has not yet been fully processed. Together with the scarcity, this has led to a sharp increase in prices again.
The average rental price last year was €1,321 per month. Almost 90% of rentals in Brussels are for apartments, and the rent for them cost an average of €1,255 last year.
Shrinking supply
The median price has again risen more sharply than the average price in 2024. In 2023, the price went up by 10.6%, and last year by another 7.3% – to €1,160 for an apartment.
"The median figures show that the Brussels rental market has become a lot less affordable in a short time," the CIB added. "The supply of rental properties at cheaper, affordable rents is shrinking."
The Brussels skyline. Credit: Belga/James Arthur
For the Rental Barometer, the CIB analysed 8,400 Brussels rental contracts that were concluded via a real estate agency last year – about 10% less than a year earlier. In Brussels too, supply cannot keep up with demand.
According to the CIB, Brussels should form a new Regional Government sooner rather than later. "Affordable housing can only be created by creating supply," said CIB spokesperson Kristophe Thijs. "Demand is now exceeding supply, causing prices to rise faster than inflation. There is a clear need for a change in policy, to reach out to investors and landlords instead of discouraging them."
The organisation urgently requests "implementing incentives for landlords in Brussels. If this does not happen, the pressure on the rental market will only increase."
