How did the Belgian property market perform in 2020?

The Federation of Notaries (Fednot) has published a rather surprising review of the property market over the past year: it reports a slight decline in transactions while prices continue to rise.
Let us take a closer look.

Fewer transactions

According to the Notaries’ Barometer, transactions fell slightly in 2020, by 2.7%.
It should be noted that this is the average for Belgium, but the Regions did not all experience the crisis in the same way. Brussels recorded the largest decline (-5%), followed by Flanders (-4%), while Wallonia performed well with an increase (+0.8%).

How can this difference be explained?
– Brussels: investors and developers, who often flock to the capital, remained cautious
– Flanders: is experiencing the effects of the abolition of the woonbonus
– Wallonia: is benefiting from the new way of life imposed by the health crisis

Soaring prices

The Barometer notes another surge in prices for 2020.
The average price of a house in Belgium rose by 5.7% compared with 2019, bringing it to 276.993 euros. The increase was even greater for flats (+6.8%), which now cost an average of 244.112 euros.

“Demand remains strong,” explains Renaud Grégoire, spokesperson for notaire.be. This may seem surprising given that the sector was closed for almost a third of the year. “Mortgage interest rates remain extremely low and attractive. At the same time, supply is now lower than demand,” he continues. This has therefore naturally put pressure on prices