Press release: Persistent price increases for new builds confirm that the Belgian housing market is moving at two speeds
In the third quarter of 2023, the prices of newly built real estate in Belgium continued to rise, despite ongoing indications of a cooling in the overall property market. The differing trends between the regions continue. Especially in the segment of new-build houses, Flanders and Wallonia are drifting apart. This is evident from the New Build Barometer, an initiative by neighborhood developer Matexi and real estate data platform Realo, which maps out the price evolutions of the Belgian new-build real estate market.
The results for the third quarter of 2023 show that the Belgian new-build market still experiences a rising price trend. The prices of an average new-build house and apartment increased by 0.25% and 1.32%, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. Especially concerning the apartments, this is a continuation of the rising trend that has been evident for a longer period.
The limited national price increase for houses masks the divergent price evolutions between Flanders and Wallonia. Fabrice Luyckx, data specialist at Realo, stated: "The slower growth in house prices can be explained by the fact that these prices have risen much more sharply in recent years than the rest of the housing market. Moreover, the summer months are always quieter in the real estate sector."
This provides the following prices and price evolutions for different segments and regions of the country:
"These figures from the New Build Barometer once again highlight the extent to which the new-build segment is evolving at a different pace than the rest of the Belgian real estate market," says Kristoff De Winne, Acquisition & Development Director at Matexi. "In a market that is under severe pressure due to increased interest rates, construction costs, and inflation, energy-efficient new-build homes are at risk of becoming unattainable for many people. It is therefore very important that we ensure the supply remains large enough. In this context, we regret that the federal government has reformed the 6 percent VAT rate for demolition and reconstruction in a way that means the measure completely misses its purpose. By limiting the VAT to 6 percent only for individuals who carry out the demolition and reconstruction themselves, large reconstruction projects in residential cores will become unaffordable for many.”
Read all information from the New Build Barometer on the website.
About Realo
Realo is a Ghent-based scale-up that aims to bring transparency to the European real estate market. Using a powerful and self-developed real estate data platform, the company supports real estate professionals and consumers by providing data-driven insights and leads. Realo gathers local and public real estate data and brings it together in an intuitive platform. The company has the most complete and up-to-date data on real estate in Belgium (since 2014). "Data-as-a-service" solutions provide access to basic information, analyses and historical (price) information on Belgian real estate, making efficient and accurate valuations possible. In addition, the real estate data platform also offers "leads-as-a-service" solutions aimed at generating buyer and seller leads for real estate agents.For more information, please visit: www.realo.be
About Matexi
Since 1945, Matexi has been offering everyone the opportunity to purchase an affordable, sustainable and high-quality home. Under the motto "Welcome to the neighborhood", Matexi wants to contribute to neighborhoods that inspire people to make more out of life together with each project. Matexi has offices in every Belgian province, in the Brussels-Capital Region, in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and in Warsaw and Krakow (Poland). With nearly 400 employees, Matexi is currently developing 478 neighborhoods in 406 cities and municipalities. Since its inception, Matexi has built more than 45,800 homes, roughly equivalent to the number of homes in cities like Kortrijk or Mechelen.As a market leader, Matexi aims to provide adequate answers to developments and challenges in the housing market. With projects such as 't Groen Kwartier (Antwerp, conversion of military hospital), Antwerp Tower (conversion of 26-story office tower), Leopold Views (Evere, conversion of office tower), De Kazerne (Ghent, conversion of military complex into city district), Bétons Lemaire (Ottignies, conversion of industrial site), Quartier Bleu (Hasselt, development of new city district by the water), I-Dyle (Genappe, first 'eco-quarter' in Wallonia) and Kolska od Nowa (Warsaw, development of apartment complex), Matexi takes the lead in large urban developments and conversion with a focus on social inclusion and sustainable building.For more information, please visit www.matexi.be/pers.