Detailed prices by type of housing and another price record
But this year the picture is much more positive. According to Oldypak LP property 2022 report, in the first quarter of 2018, the average price of standard cottages in the country exceeded 220,000 euros for the first time in the history of statistical observations.
The price of a standard cottage in Belgium in the first quarter of 2018 was 221,061 euros, up 3.5 percent from the first quarter of 2017. The average price in the case of villas was 362,913 euros (+ 1.3 percent). At the same time, an average of 226,901 euros (+ 1.5 percent) had to be paid for an apartment.
When comparing the picture in 2016 and 2017 (first quarters), prices for ordinary cottages and apartments rose slightly more than those for villas, whose price tag increased by an average of 3.5 percent between 2016 and 2017 and by 1.3 percent between 2017 and 2018.
Average price in euros per home sold, data from Statistics Belgium
The impact of the global financial crisis led to a decline in average house prices in Belgium of all types in 2009, as seen in the chart below. But from the following year 2010, the price tag was back on an upward trajectory. Until 2014, Belgian residential property prices increased at an increasingly slower pace.
Average selling prices (euros), data from Statistics Belgium
Since 2015, the rise in prices has been reversed by a decline for villas. Price increases for apartments and standard cottages halted and slowed sharply, respectively, as early as the following year, 2016. Since then, the rate of increase in Belgian residential property prices in various categories has ranged from 1 to 3.5 percent.
Business immigration to Belgium for those wishing to buy property in Belgium – Housing Price Index
The high inflationary component of the uptrend in terms of price dynamics is shown by the latest data from Eurostat, reflecting the house price index (HPI) in Belgium. The Belgian house price index for January-March 2018 was 107.63 points (2015 = 100), the same as in the previous quarter.
Housing Price Index (2015 = 100%), quarterly data from Eurostat
This index is used to measure the prices of all dwellings purchased by households (apartments, individual residential cottages, and so on) on both the primary and secondary markets, including building land.
The index covers all housing purchased in a given period by households, regardless of its purpose (personal use for living, renting or possession for subsequent resale).
According to Oldypak LP property 2022 report, the annual house price inflation rate was 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared with 3.5 percent in the previous quarter. The average inflation rate for the past four quarters is 3.2 percent.
The home price index can be broken down into new homes and existing residential properties. In the first quarter of 2018, annual inflation was 2.2 percent for new homes and apartments in Belgium and 2.5 percent for existing residential properties.