- The observed annual inflation rate for house prices amounts to 2.7% in the first quarter of 2025, which is a slight decrease compared to the rate of 2.8% observed in the previous quarter.[1]
- The average inflation rate for the last four quarters amounts to 3.1%.
- The house price index went up by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter.
Each quarter, STATBEL, the Belgian statistical office, calculates a house price index according to European regulations.
The annual inflation rate for house prices amounts to 2.7% in the first quarter of 2025, which is a slight decrease compared to the rate of 2.8% observed in the previous quarter. The average inflation rate for the last four quarters amounts to 3.1%. The house price index stands at 143.12 points (2015=100) against 142.18 points in the previous quarter and increased by 0.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.
The European Union Member States calculate the house price index according to a harmonised methodology which makes it possible to compare the evolution of house prices across the different Member States. The house price index measures the price evolution of private real estate. The index follows price changes of new or existing residential real estate purchased by households, irrespective of their purpose (letting or owner-occupying). The house price index measures the price evolution with the assumption that the characteristics of the property sold remain unchanged.
The index thus measures the actual price evolution without interference of qualitative changes using a hedonic model (see technical information). If the size of the property sold increases, the average price of houses sold will also increase, which does not necessarily mean that the house price index will have increased. Therefore, this index does not measure the evolution of the average sales price of real estate.
The house price index is based on real estate transaction data from the General Administration of the Patrimonial Documentation of the FPS Finances. The results for the latest quarters are considered provisional and may be reviewed during the following quarter when additional data become available.
House price index of new houses and existing houses
The house price index can be broken down by two items (new houses and existing houses). In the first quarter of 2025, annual inflation amounted to 0.3% for new houses and 3.6% for existing houses. The weights of these two items in the overall index amount to 29.6% and 70.4% respectively for the year 2025.
House price index of existing houses by region
The house price index for existing houses has been broken down by region since 2010. In the first quarter of 2025, inflation for existing houses amounted to 2.3% in Brussels, 3.3% in Flanders and 5.4% in Wallonia.
Comparison with neighbouring countries
Since Eurostat will only publish the neighbouring countries' house price index for the first quarter of 2025 on 4 July 2025, the fourth quarter of 2024 is the most recent quarter to use as a basis for comparison. In Belgium, inflation stood at 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 3.6% in the third quarter of 2024. The Netherlands experienced an inflation rate of 10.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase compared to the 10.4% inflation rate observed in the third quarter of 2024. France experienced an inflation rate of -1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase compared to the -3.5% inflation rate registered in the third quarter of 2024. In Germany, inflation stood at 1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase compared to the rate of -0.4% registered in the previous quarter. Inflation for the euro area as a whole has sharply increased to 4.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 2.7% in the previous quarter.
[1]Figures for the last two quarters are considered provisional and may be reviewed in later publications