Antwerp experienced the biggest drop with 10.8 per cent fewer house sales. The property market also struggled in Limburg (-9.6 per cent), West Flanders (-9 per cent) and Flemish Brabant (-7.3 per cent). East Flanders limited the decline to 6.4%. In Wallonia, sales fell 6.5 per cent in the first quarter. In Brussels, the number of transactions remained almost stable with a drop of only 0.8 per cent.
No reason for pessimism
‘The demand side remains somewhat stuck,’ Bart van Opstal, Fednot spokesman, explains the declining trend. ‘Supply in Belgium is generally sufficient. What is striking is that the number of transactions has fallen back to the same level as in corona year 2020.’
Van Opstal stresses that the reduced demand for property this time also leads to lower prices when inflation is removed. ‘Last year we saw a significant drop in sales - in Flanders almost 17 per cent - but prices did not fall, which was exceptional.’
Van Opstal sees no reason for pessimism. ‘Compared to the Netherlands, we have a stable market in Belgium with no major slippages. The market is driven by private individuals and less by professional property investors. Private individuals are usually not in a hurry to sell, so prices will not fall quickly.’
Slight drop in prices
At first glance, prices seem to be rising slightly, but this is mainly due to inflation. In Belgium, a house cost an average of 328,187 euros in the first quarter, 1.7 per cent more than the 2023 annual average. But taking inflation into account, this was a price drop of 0.6 per cent.
In Flanders, the average price of a house rose 2.4 per cent to 367,120 euros. Adjusted for inflation, the price remained almost stable, with a minuscule increase of 0.1 per cent. In Wallonia, there was a slight drop in real terms (-0.3 per cent to 239,886 euros), and in Brussels the drop was more pronounced (-3.1 per cent to 545,210 euros). A flat cost an average of 268,256 euros, 1.3 per cent more than the annual average in 2023, representing a price drop of 1 per cent after adjusting for inflation.
In Flanders, the average price of a flat rose 1.2 per cent to 279,811 euros, but fell 1.1 per cent after adjusting for inflation. In Wallonia, the price drop was larger, while in Brussels the price rose (+0.7 per cent after adjusting for inflation, to 288,878 euros).
