Cool-down on Belgian real estate market
The Belgian real estate market is cooling down. In January and February of this year the number of sales was down 10.5% figures from notaris.be’s real estate barometer show.
The trend started during the second half of last year but has now picked up speed. Real estate sales are now at levels last seen just before the pandemic says notary Bart Van Opstal of the notaris.be website.
The rate hike is kicking in, but higher energy prices also mean people have fewer readies. “It’s all serving as a break on the number of real estate transactions” says Van Opstal.
The fall in home sales is most pronounced in Flanders: down 14.2%. Falls in Brussels 6.4% and Wallonia 4% are more modest.
“Average home prices are higher in Flanders than in Wallonia. This means buyers need to borrow more and that makes a mortgage even harder to service” Van Opstal notes.
The number of homes sold fell across the Flemish provinces: down 10.4% in Limburg but down 19.2% in West Flanders – our coastal province. On average the fall for flats and houses was more or less the same.
“This cooling down comes after a period when many more properties were sold. The real estate market was exceptionally busy following the end of Lockdown. Buyers were forced to make quick decisions. Today punters have more scope for negotiation and who can object to that?” says Van Opstal.