The average selling price for a house in Brussels fell by 3% in the first months of this year, compared to the same period in 2020, while flats became slightly more expensive.
The dips in the Brussels housing market are being attributed to the increase in people working at home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to reporting from Bruzz.
“People who work in Brussels sooner or later consider buying a house or flat to live closer to their work,” Bart Van Opstal, a spokesperson for the Royal Federation of Belgian Notaries (FEB), told Bruzz.
The FEB is the professional association of notaries’ collaborators, notaries and candidate-notaries.
“Today, you see that many companies want to implement homeworking, which is still compulsory as much as possible because of the corona crisis, structurally in their organisation. That's why there is a pause button on the housing market: people first want to wait and see how things will go in their company before they finally buy something in Brussels.”
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Home prices actually rose in other parts of Belgium. In Flanders, the average cost of a house grew 2.5% to €314,360. In Wallonia, the average home costs €208,333, which is more or less stable compared to the year before.
“You shouldn't forget that Brussels is already the most expensive region in terms of residential property,” Van Opstal said.
The fact that flat prices rose in the Belgian capital (by 1.9%, to €279,832) can also be attributed to the pandemic, said Van Opstal.
“Apartments remain more sought after by private investors. They remain active and still want to invest their capital in real estate. They are therefore less influenced by working from home.”
Helen Lyons
The Brussels Times
