The Covid-19 pandemic has had a rather limited impact on the number of property transactions in Belgium, figures from Belgian statistics office Statbel showed on Monday, and the median price of flats in the country has exceeded the €200,000 mark for the first time.
Brussels continues to be the country’s most expensive region for housing.
The median price for attached and semi-attached houses in the Belgian capital was €435,000, up 8.8%, and that number rose 11% to €960,000 for detached houses.
For a flat in Brussels, the average price was €228,000 euros, which represents an increase of 8.6%.
While the housing market in Belgium took a dip overall at the beginning of the year, largely attributed to the amount of people working from home, the effect was generally negated by a strong fourth quarter.
In 2020, the Belgian median price for attached or semi-attached houses amounted to €216,500 (+0.7% compared to 2019), and €315,000 (+5%) for detached homes. The price increase was most marked for flats, where the median price rose by 7.4%.
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The Walloon Region was the least expensive region, but still saw increases with a median price of €155,000 for attached or semi-attached houses (+4.7%) and €254,000 for detached ones (+5.8%). Flats became 4.7% more expensive at €155,000, which is as much as an attached or semi-attached house.
Between these two extremes, the Flemish Region’s 2020 attached or semi-attached houses came at a median price of €249,000 (+3.8%), with detached houses at €349,000 (+5.8%). Flats became €15,000 more expensive (+7.7%), at a median price of €210,000.
Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant are the most expensive provinces, Limburg and Hainaut the least. While Knokke-Heist (West Flanders) is the most expensive municipality, the cheapest houses are found in Hastière, in the province of Namur.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a limited impact on the number of real estate transactions, Statbel figures show.
“The drop in the number of transactions due to the quarantine was compensated by a strong fourth quarter,” the Belgian office said.
The Brussels Times
