House prices in Belgium, first semester 2018

Housing
House prices in Belgium, first semester 2018

Detached houses are 85,000 euros more expensive than attached or semi-detached

Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the house prices for the first semester of 2018.

The main results are the following:

  • The Belgian median price for an attached or semi-detached house amounted to 195,000 euros in the first semester of 2018. A buyer had to pay 280,000 euros for a detached house.
  • The Walloon Region is the cheapest with a median price of 137,000 euros for an attached or semi-detached house, and 230,000 euros for a detached house.
  • It is followed by the Flemish Region. Attached and semi-detached houses cost there 225,000 euros, and a detached house cost 310,000 euros.
  • The Brussels-Capital Region is the most expensive region for all types of dwellings. Attached and semi-detached houses cost there 365,000 euros. The price for a detached house amounted to 830,000 euros.

The calculation method of these property prices has been modified and geared to the modernisation of the basic data source from the FPS Finances (the "Land Register"). The main methodological changes are:

  • A more accurate division of the type of property based on the purpose stated in the deed of sale and the number of outside walls. A stricter distinction is therefore possible between houses and apartments, and between detached, semi-detached and attached houses.
  • The use of the median price as reference price instead of the average price. The median price is the price at which 50 % of houses sold are cheaper and 50 % are more expensive. This gives a more robust result that is also more comparable over time. Indeed, median prices are less affected by extreme sales price.
  • The sale of a new construction is no longer taken into account in the calculation, because all the necessary qualitative data are not systematically available.

The property prices of the past have also been recalculated according to this new method, so that a comparable series is available from 2010 onward.

Belgium

The median price for an attached or semi-detached house amounted to 195,000 euros in the first semester of 2018. A buyer had to pay 280,000 euros for a detached house. So those who wanted to buy a detached house had to pay 85,000 euros more than the median price of an attached or semi-detached house. Apartments cost 180,000 euros.

BELGIUM 2016 2017 2018 evolution % evolution %
(S1) (S1) (S1) 2017/2016 2018/2017
Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 180,000 188,000 195,000 +4.4% +3.7%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 270,000 275,000 280,000 +1.9% +1.8%
Apartments 170,000 175,000 180,000 +2.9% +2.9%
Median price (euros)

Compared to the first semester of 2017, the median prices of attached and semi-detached houses have increased by 3.7 %, i.e. a rise of 7,000 euros. This increase is 0.7 % lower than the year before. The increase for detached houses was smaller: the median price has gone up by 1.8 % or 5,000 euros, like the year before. Prices for apartments have increased again by 5,000 euros or 2.9 %.

Graf_s1-2018_en.png

(the chart shows the median prices of the first semester for each year)