The average price of a detached house in Brussels surpassed the €1 million mark in the first half of 2024, rebounding from a dramatic drop in average prices last year as a result of rising interest rates.
Real estate figures for the first half of the year, published by Statbel on Wednesday, show that the Brussels-Capital Region is still by far the most expensive region in Belgium for home buyers.
The average detached property in Brussels now costs €1.1 million, while the cost of a terraced or semi-detached home averages at €485,000 – both more than double the national average.
In 2023, prices for the most expensive (detached) houses in Brussels plunged by more than 20%, dipping under the €1 million mark for the first time in several years. The fall in house prices last year was largely driven by rising interest rates.
In a bid to tackle spiralling inflation across the eurozone, the European Central Bank raised its benchmark deposit interest rate ten times between July 2022 and September 2023, from 0% to a record high of 4%.
An increase in interest rates means higher monthly mortgage repayments for consumers, especially for more expensive properties.
However, it seems that as ECB interest rates reached their peak, and have even started to fall in recent months, house prices in Brussels have bounced back by 21.9% in the first half of the year.
More moderate rises for other property types
While also on the rise, price fluctuations for smaller properties in Brussels have been more moderate. The median price for terraced and semi-detached homes rose by 2.1% in the first half of 2024 (compared to the same period last year) to €485,000, while the average price of an apartment has risen by 2% to €260,000.
Looking at individual communes in Brussels, the municipality with the highest median house price is Ixelles (€692,500), while the lowest average house price is in Anderlecht (€349,000).
Anderlecht is also the municipality with the lowest average apartment price (€197,000), while the most expensive commune to buy an apartment is Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, where the average price is €352,500.
Elsewhere in Belgium
Elsewhere in Belgium, the Walloon Region is the cheapest, with a median price of €175,000 for a terraced or semi-detached house, €296,500 for a detached house, and €175,000 for an apartment.
Meanwhile Flanders is in between, with terraced and semi-detached houses costing €298,000 on average, detached homes costing €410,000, and the average apartment costing €249,000.
Looking at the national average, the median price of a terraced or semi-detached home rose by 0.4% in the first half of 2024, to €260,000. Meanwhile the average price of detached properties rose by 1.4% to €370,000, and the cost of an apartment has risen by 1.3% to €240,000.
