Belgium’s post-lockdown property upswing continues

Real estate activity in Belgium was very strong in the third quarter of 2020, after a sharp fall in March, April and early May, according to the real estate barometer published on Thursday by the Royal Federation of Belgian Notaries (Fednot).

However, the number of transactions in the first nine months of the year remains 3.5% lower than in the same period in 2019. "The market has not yet returned to its level of last year," according to the statement from Fednot.

In the third quarter, real estate activity increased by 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

The Fednot statistics revealed differences between the regions. Where there has been a desire on the Walloon and Flemish markets for a "return to more rurality" after the coronavirus shutdown, with searches for houses with gardens, the recovery has been less strong on the Brussels side, although the property market in the capital was the most stable at the beginning of the year.

The average price of a house in Belgium was €274,409 in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 4.7% compared to 2019. “If we take inflation into account (0.3%), this means that a house now costs on average €11,000 more than last year,” Fednot said.

If a price increase is observed in Belgium’s three regions, it was in Brussels that it was the least strong (up 3.9%, to €497,463). In Flanders, the average price of a house exceeds €300,000 for the first time, while in Wallonia (€206,681), it remains 25% lower than the average price of a house in Belgium. The average price increased the most in the province of Luxembourg (up 10.2%, €224,147) and the least in Hainaut (up 3.4%, €163,393).