Real Estate

House prices 2022

Housing
House prices 2022

Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the real estate figures for the full year 2022, down to the municipal level. The main results are the following:

  • The Belgian median price for an attached or semi-detached house amounted to 255,000 euros. A buyer had to pay 360,000 euros for a detached house.
  • The Brussels-Capital Region was the most expensive region. Attached and semi-detached houses cost there 491,750 euros. The price for a detached house amounted to 1,150,000 euros.
  • The Walloon Region was the cheapest with a median price of 175,000 euros for an attached or semi-detached house, and 290,000 euros for a detached house.
  • Prices in the Flemish Region are between these two extremes: attached and semi-detached houses cost there 285,000 euros. The price for a detached house amounted to 395,000 euros.
  • In the Flemish Region, the cheapest province is Limburg and the most expensive is Flemish Brabant. In the Walloon Region, the cheapest province is Hainaut and the most expensive is Walloon Brabant.
  • Ixelles was the most expensive municipality for houses. The cheapest houses can be found in Hastière.
  • The most expensive apartments are found in Knokke-Heist. The cheapest apartments can be found in Vielsalm.

All the results in this press release are based on the deeds of sale registered at the General Administration of the Patrimonial Documentation of the FPS Finances.

Belgium

The median price for an attached or semi-detached house amounted to 255,000 euros for the whole year 2022. The price of a detached house was 360,000 euros. The price of apartments was 230,000 euros.

BELGIUM 2020 2021 2022 % evolution % evolution
(y) (y) (y) 2021 / 2020 2022 / 2021
Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 217,000 235,000 255,000 +8.3% +8.5%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 315,000 337,000 360,000 +7.0% +6.8%
Apartments 204,000 219,000 230,000 +7.4% +5.0%
Median price (euros)

The price rise for houses in 2022 is in the same range as in 2021: median prices of attached and semi-detached houses increased by 8.5%. The price for detached houses increased by 6.8%. The price increase among flats was less pronounced than the year before: they became 5% more expensive.

The regions

Clear regional differences can be noted:

  • The Brussels-Capital Region is the most expensive region for all types of dwellings. Attached and semi-detached houses cost 491,750 euros and have become 8.1 % more expensive. Detached house cost €1,150,000 and remain at the same level as the previous year. The median price for apartments increased to 254,750 euros, i.e. a price increase of 6.1%:
BRUSSELS-CAPITAL REGION 2020 2021 2022 % evolution % evolution
(y) (y) (y) 2021/ 2020 2022 / 2021
Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 435,000 455,000 491,750 +4.6% +8.1%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 960,000 1,150,000 1,150,000 +19.8% +0.0%
Apartments 228,000 240,000 254,750 +5.3% +6.1%
Median price (euros)
  • The Walloon Region was the cheapest. In 2022, attached and semi-detached houses have registered, with a median price of 175,000 euros, a price increase of 10,000 euros (+6.1 %) compared to 2021. The median price of detached houses has increased in Wallonia by 6.2 % and now stands at 290,000 euros. With a price increase of 10,000 euros, apartments became 6.1% more expensive and cost 175,000 euros, the same price as for an attached or semi-detached house:
WALLOON REGION 2020 2021 2022 % evolution % evolution
(y) (y) (y) 2021 / 2020 2022 / 2021
Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 155,000 165,000 175,000 +6.5% +6.1%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 253,500 273,000 290,000 +7.7% +6.2%
Apartments 155,000 165,000 175,000 +6.5% +6.1%
Median price (euros)
  • The Flemish Region is in between. Attached and semi-detached houses cost there 285,000 euros, an increase of 20,000 euros (+7.5 %) compared to 2021. Detached houses (395,000 euros) experienced a 6.8% price increase compared to the previous year. Apartments cost 235,000 euros. They became 15,000 euros (+6.8%) more expensive:
FLEMISH REGION 2020 2021 2022 % evolution % evolution
(y) (y) (y) 2021 / 2020 2022 / 2021
Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 249,000 265,000 285,000 +6.4% +7.5%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 349,000 370,000 395,000 +6.0% +6.8%
Apartments 210,000 220,000 235,000 +4.8% +6.8%
Median price (euros)

The provinces

In the Flemish Region, in 2022, houses and apartments were most expensive in the province of Flemish Brabant: an attached or semi-detached house there cost 340,000 euros. For a detached house the median price was 445,000 euros. The median price of apartments amounted to 257,500 euros. In Limburg, houses and apartments were the cheapest: 237,000 euros for an attached or semi-detached house, 300,000 euros for a detached house and 217,750 euros for an apartment.

In the Walloon Region, the province of Walloon Brabant is the most expensive for all categories: attached and semi-detached houses cost there 315,000 euros, the median price of a detached house was 465,000 euros and apartments reached a level of 245,000 euros. Hainaut was the cheapest for attached or semi-detached houses (150,000 euros) and apartments (145,000 euros). The cheapest detached houses were found in the province of Namur (251,000 euros).

The municipalities

Houses

The tables below show a ranking of the most and least expensive municipalities per region based on all attached, semi-detached and detached houses.

The most expensive Flemish municipalities for houses were Knokke-Heist and Sint-Martens-Latem with a median price of 750,000 euros. The cheapest houses in this region could be found in Menen with a median price of 179,000 euros.

The most expensive Walloon houses are located in Lasne (704,125 euros) and the cheapest houses could be found in Hastière (78,000 euros).

In the Brussels-Capital Region, the municipality of Ixelles had the highest median price with 790,000 euros. The lowest median price for houses in this region was in the municipality of Anderlecht (338,500 euros).

Houses - most and least expensive municipalities in the Flemish Region:

Most expensive municipalities Median price Least expensive municipalities Median price
1 KNOKKE-HEIST (384) 750,000 1 MENEN (551) 179,000
  SINT-MARTENS-LATEM (122) 750,000 2 WERVIK (212) 191,000
3 KRAAINEM (127) 589,500 3 RONSE (398) 199,500
4 WEZEMBEEK-OPPEM (146) 575,000 4 ZUTENDAAL (130) 210,000
5 SINT-GENESIUS-RODE (213) 567,000 5 ALVERINGEM (63) 212,500
6 SCHILDE (312) 560,000 6 TONGEREN (356) 216,519
7 TERVUREN (223) 550,000 7 POPERINGE (255) 217,000
8 DE PINTE (105) 520,000 8 GERAARDSBERGEN (502) 225,000
9 OVERIJSE (276) 505,500   IZEGEM (371) 225,000
10 LINKEBEEK (45) 475,000 10 HEUVELLAND (105) 230,000
The figure in brackets represents the number of transactions.

Houses - most and least expensive municipalities in the Walloon Region:

Most expensive municipalities Median price Least expensive municipalities Median price
1 LASNE (149) 704,125 1 HASTIERE (201) 78,000
2 WATERLOO (292) 535,000 2 FROIDCHAPELLE (69) 105,000
3 LA HULPE (66) 500,000 3 COLFONTAINE (311) 115,000
4 CHAUMONT-GISTOUX (96) 482,500 4 QUIÉVRAIN (78) 118,000
5 RIXENSART (209) 475,000 5 FRAMERIES (250) 120,000
6 ATTERT (32) 410,000   QUAREGNON (204) 120,000
7 BEAUVECHAIN (65) 409,500 7 VIROINVAL (83) 122,000
8 WAVRE (247) 387,500 8 MOMIGNIES (52) 126,000
9 WALHAIN (53) 387,000 9 BOUSSU (208) 135,000
10 OTTIGNIES-LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE (141) 385,000   ERQUELINNES (107) 135,000
        MEIX-DEVANT-VIRTON (20) 135,000
The figure in brackets represents the number of transactions.

Houses - most and least expensive municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region:

Most expensive municipalities Median price Least expensive municipalities Median price
1 IXELLES (110) 790,000 1 ANDERLECHT (191) 338,500
2 WOLUWE-SAINT-PIERRE (195) 739,000 2 MOLENBEEK-SAINT-JEAN (85) 350,000
3 UCCLE (376) 696,000 3 KOEKELBERG (16) 372,519
4 SAINT-GILLES (28) 687,500 4 JETTE (100) 376,000
5 WOLUWE-SAINT-LAMBERT (132) 650,000 5 BRUSSELS (252) 399,500
6 ETTERBEEK (96) 639,000 6 EVERE (83) 401,000
7 WATERMAEL-BOITSFORT (129) 627,500 7 BERCHEM-SAINTE-AGATHE (90) 402,500
8 FOREST (81) 550,000 8 GANSHOREN (37) 441,200
9 AUDERGHEM (155) 539,500 9 SAINT-JOSSE-TEN-NOODE (29) 451,000
10 SCHAERBEEK (152) 465,000 10 SCHAERBEEK (152) 465,000
The figure in brackets represents the number of transactions.

Apartments

The tables below show a ranking of the most and least expensive municipalities per region for the apartments.

The most expensive Flemish municipality for the apartments was Knokke-Heist with a median price of 545,000 euros. The cheapest apartments in this region could be found in Menen with a median price of 149,000 euros.

The most expensive Walloon apartments are located in Waterloo (330,000 euros) and the cheapest apartments could be found in Vielsalm (85,000 euros).

In the Brussels-Capital Region was Woluwé-Saint-Pierre the municipality with the highest median price for an apartment, i.e. 363,000 euros. The lowest median price was for the municipality of Anderlecht (190,000 euros).

Apartments - most and least expensive municipalities in the Flemish Region:

Most expensive municipalities Median price Least expensive municipalities Median price
1 KNOKKE-HEIST (1041) 545,000 1 MENEN (45) 149,000
2 HOVE (18) 425,000 2 DEERLIJK (22) 169,500
3 BIERBEEK (25) 392,894 3 TONGEREN (94) 173,750
4 BOUTERSEM (19) 363,552 4 ROESELARE (221) 175,000
5 SCHILDE (59) 350,000 5 MIDDELKERKE (806) 177,000
6 OUD-HEVERLEE (21) 349,000   HARELBEKE (100) 177,000
7 BONHEIDEN (16) 347,500 7 KOEKELARE (18) 177,500
8 WEZEMBEEK-OPPEM (31) 337,500 8 PEER (28) 185,000
9 KRAAINEM (39) 335,000   HOESELT (17) 185,000
10 TERVUREN (53) 330,000 10 AVELGEM (23) 186,000
The figure in brackets represents the number of transactions.

Apartments - most and least expensive municipalities in the Walloon Region:

Most expensive municipalities Median price Least expensive municipalities Median price
1 WATERLOO (86) 330,000 1 VIELSALM (22) 85,000
2 LA HULPE (20) 327,500 2 CHARLEROI (490) 109,500
3 RIXENSART (32) 317,500 3 CHÂTELET (40) 110,500
4 GENAPPE (21) 284,620 4 KELMIS (30) 111,000
5 PERWEZ (43) 279,228 5 ROCHEFORT (56) 128,993
6 BRAINE-L’ALLEUD (116) 260,000 6 ESNEUX (37) 129,000
7 WAVRE (127) 241,000 7 DURBUY (41) 130,500
8 OTTIGNIES-LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE (162) 235,000 8 LA LOUVIERE (138) 140,000
9 VISÉ (16) 227,000 9 FLEURUS (23) 142,000
10 EGHEZEE (16) 222,500 10 COURCELLES (31) 142,500
The figure in brackets represents the number of transactions.

Apartments - most and least expensive municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region:

Most expensive municipalities Median price Least expensive municipalities Median price
1 WOLUWE-SAINT-PIERRE (346) 363,000 1 ANDERLECHT (738) 190,000
2 UCCLE (877) 330,000 2 GANSHOREN (241) 205,000
3 IXELLES (926) 325,000 3 BERCHEM-SAINTE-AGATHE (156) 207,750
4 WOLUWE-SAINT-LAMBERT (566) 320,500 4 KOEKELBERG (238) 209,000
5 AUDERGHEM (267) 295,000 5 MOLENBEEK-SAINT-JEAN (747) 210,000
6 WATERMAEL-BOITSFORT (142) 289,500 6 JETTE (450) 215,000
7 ETTERBEEK (468) 285,000   SAINT-JOSSE-TEN-NOODE (165) 215,000
8 SAINT-GILLES (416) 275,000 8 EVERE (423) 231,000
9 FOREST (481) 273,250 9 SCHAERBEEK (951) 250,000
10 BRUSSELS (1624) 265,000 10 BRUSSELS (1624) 265,000
The figure in brackets represents the number of transactions.

Annexes

Overview median prices

Average sales prices
(euros per unit sold)
2020
(y)
2021
(y)
2022
(y)
Evolution %
2021 / 2020
Evolution %
2022/ 2021
BELGIUM Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 217,000 235,000 255,000 +8.3% +8.5%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 315,000 337,000 360,000 +7.0% +6.8%
Apartments 204,000 219,000 230,000 +7.4% +5.0%
FLEMISH REGION Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 249,000 265,000 285,000 +6.4% +7.5%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 349,000 370,000 395,000 +6.0% +6.8%
Apartments 210,000 220,000 235,000 +4.8% +6.8%
WALLOON REGION Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 155,000 165,000 175,000 +6.5% +6.1%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 253,500 273,000 290,000 +7.7% +6.2%
Apartments 155,000 165,000 175,000 +6.5% +6.1%
BRUSSELS-CAPITAL REGION Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 435,000 455,000 491,750 +4.6% +8.1%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 960,000 1,150,000 1,150,000 +19.8% +0.0%
Apartments 228,000 240,000 254,750 +5.3% +6.1%
PROVINCE OF ANTWERP Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 270,000 291,800 315,000 +8.1% +8.0%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 369,000 389,000 420,000 +5.4% +8.0%
Apartments 206,000 220,000 235,000 +6.8% +6.8%
PROVINCE OF FLEMISH BRABANT Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 290,000 315,000 340,000 +8.6% +7.9%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 385,000 420,000 445,000 +9.1% +6.0%
Apartments 228,000 240,000 257,500 +5.3% +7.3%
PROVINCE OF WALLOON BRABANT Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 285,000 305,000 315,000 +7.0% +3.3%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 400,000 440,000 465,000 +10.0% +5.7%
Apartments 220,000 230,000 245,000 +4.5% +6.5%
PROVINCE OF WEST FLANDERS Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 220,000 230,000 248,000 +4.5% +7.8%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 349,000 369,000 390,000 +5.7% +5.7%
Apartments 200,000 215,000 223,500 +7.5% +4.0%
PROVINCE OF EAST FLANDERS Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 240,000 259,000 280,000 +7.9% +8.1%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 366,000 390,000 420,000 +6.6% +7.7%
Apartments 220,000 230,000 245,000 +4.5% +6.5%
PROVINCE OF HAINAUT Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 135,000 143,000 150,000 +5.9% +4.9%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 237,500 250,000 270,000 +5.3% +8.0%
Apartments 135,000 140,000 145,000 +3.7% +3.6%
PROVINCE OF LIÈGE Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 160,000 170,000 180,000 +6.3% +5.9%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 254,000 270,000 294,750 +6.3% +9.2%
Apartments 150,000 160,000 170,000 +6.7% +6.3%
PROVINCE OF LIMBURG Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 200,000 219,000 237,000 +9.5% +8.2%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 262,500 285,000 300,000 +8.6% +5.3%
Apartments 193,000 205,000 217,750 +6.2% +6.2%
PROVINCE OF LUXEMBOURG Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 166,000 175,000 200,000 +5.4% +14.3%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 210,000 240,000 260,000 +14.3% +8.3%
Apartments 154,900 179,500 185,000 +15.9% +3.1%
PROVINCE OF NAMUR Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 170,000 180,000 195,000 +5.9% +8.3%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 220,000 239,000 251,000 +8.6% +5.0%
Apartments 165,000 162,000 177,250 -1.8% +9.4%

Overview of the number of transactions

Number of property transactions 2020
(y)
2021
(y)
2022
(y)
Evolution %
2021 / 2020
Evolution %
2022/ 2021
BELGIUM Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 56,653 65,865 70,021 +16.3% +6.3%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 28,499 31,246 33,642 +9.6% +7.7%
Apartments 37,349 46,216 46,962 +23.7% +1.6%
FLEMISH REGION Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 34,624 41,308 46,031 +19.3% +11.4%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 17,499 19,651 22,356 +12.3% +13.8%
Apartments 23,481 29,737 29,746 +26.6% +0.0%
WALLOON REGION Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 20,078 22,239 21,826 +10.8% -1.9%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 10,847 11,445 11,113 +5.5% -2.9%
Apartments 5,471 6,462 6,994 +18.1% +8.2%
BRUSSELS-CAPITAL REGION Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 1,951 2,318 2,164 +18.8% -6.6%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 153 150 173 -2.0% +15.3%
Apartments 8,397 10,017 10,222 +19.3% +2.0%
PROVINCE OF ANTWERP Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 8,915 10,428 11,615 +17.0% +11.4%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 4,562 5,035 5,493 +10.4% +9.1%
Apartments 8,772 10,883 11,172 +24.1% +2.7%
PROVINCE OF FLEMISH BRABANT Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 5,264 6,209 6,965 +18.0% +12.2%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 3,391 3,938 4,357 +16.1% +10.6%
Apartments 2,579 3,117 3,677 +20.9% +18.0%
PROVINCE OF WALLOON BRABANT Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 1,577 1,772 1,676 +12.4% -5.4%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 1,609 1,674 1,603 +4.0% -4.2%
Apartments 881 1,006 1,038 +14.2% +3.2%
PROVINCE OF WEST FLANDERS Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 7,842 9,578 10,350 +22.1% +8.1%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 3,127 3,430 3,860 +9.7% +12.5%
Apartments 7,217 9,273 7,870 +28.5% -15.1%
PROVINCE OF EAST FLANDERS Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 9,859 11,728 13,265 +19.0% +13.1%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 3,292 3,666 4,290 +11.4% +17.0%
Apartments 3,092 4,115 4,432 +33.1% +7.7%
PROVINCE OF HAINAUT Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 9,178 10,324 10,132 +12.5% -1.9%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 2,957 3,216 3,027 +8.8% -5.9%
Apartments 1,527 1,822 1,790 +19.3% -1.8%
PROVINCE OF LIÈGE Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 5,946 6,512 6,436 +9.5% -1.2%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 2,648 2,725 2,722 +2.9% -0.1%
Apartments 2,028 2,262 2,614 +11.5% +15.6%
PROVINCE OF LIMBURG Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 2,744 3,365 3,836 +22.6% +14.0%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 3,127 3,582 4,356 +14.6% +21.6%
Apartments 1,821 2,349 2,595 +29.0% +10.5%
PROVINCE OF LUXEMBOURG Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 1,265 1,367 1,249 +8.1% -8.6%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 1,426 1,517 1,485 +6.4% -2.1%
Apartments 406 504 615 +24.1% +22.0%
PROVINCE OF NAMUR Houses with 2 or 3 outside walls (attached + semi-detached houses) 2,112 2,264 2,333 +7.2% +3.0%
Houses with 4 outside walls or more (detached houses) 2,207 2,313 2,276 +4.8% -1.6%
Apartments 629 868 937 +38.0% +7.9%

The table below lists the least and most expensive provinces by region.

Average sales prices
(euros per unit sold)
Most expensive province Least expensive province
Flemish Region Regular houses FLEMISH BRABANT
340,000
LIMBURG
237,000
Villas, bungalows, country houses FLEMISH BRABANT
445,000
LIMBURG
300,000
Apartments, flats, studios FLEMISH BRABANT
257,500
LIMBURG
217,750
 
Walloon Region Regular houses WALLOON BRABANT
315,000
HAINAUT
150,000
Villas, bungalows, country houses WALLOON BRABANT
465,000
NAMUR
251,000
Apartments, flats, studios WALLOON BRABANT
245,000
HAINAUT
145,000
Overview by Buildingtype
Content
Map
Content

General overview

The statistic on house prices is based on the deeds of sale registered by the FPS Finances, and more specifically the General Administration of the Patrimonial Documentation (GAPD), better known as the land registry. Until 2004, the necessary data were transmitted to Statbel on paper. From 2005 onwards, the data were transmitted in digital format, based on the registration system CADNET/LOCO. From 2016 onwards, the STIPAD system replaced the CADNET/LOCO system within the GAPD. This document describes the methodology used to calculate house prices.

Direct sales versus public sales

In the case of a direct sale of real estate, the buyer and the seller agree on a selling price.

In the case of a public sale, the property is sold according to the highest bid system. The sale is usually conducted under the direction of a notary in a public space (e.g. a café) and is announced in a local newspaper, for example.

Real estate prices as calculated by Statbel are based on both direct sales and public sales.

Preliminary sales agreement versus deed of sale

In the case of a direct sale of real estate, a preliminary sales agreement is first signed between the seller and the buyer. The signature of the notarial deed of sale takes place with a notary within 4 months of the signature of the preliminary sales agreement.

All preliminary sales agreements do not result in an actual sale. It is possible that the buyer does not find the necessary funding after the signature of the preliminary sales agreement because the bank refused the mortgage credit, for example.

Real estate prices as calculated by Statbel are based on the notarial deeds, i.e. on effective sales, and not on preliminary sales agreements.

Sales price

In addition to the agreed sales price, the buyer still has to pay additional costs, such as registration fees (or VAT in the case of a new building) and the notary's fees for drawing up the deed. If you take out a mortgage loan, the mortgage registration fees and any bank processing fees are added. For the calculation of real estate prices, we only take the agreed sales prices into account, excluding additional fees.

Type of property

Residential real estate

The data set of the land registry, to which Statbel had access from 2005 to 2017 for the calculation of real estate prices, included the following categories of properties:

  • regular houses
  • villas
  • apartments

These categories are based on the nature mentioned on the cadastral plan. This nature is determined once the new building is completed. This nature is not always updated if the purpose of the building changes.

The breakdown into ‘regular house’ versus ‘villa’ is based on the (subjective) judgement of the evaluator of the land registry.

In the rest of the document, real estate prices calculated according to the breakdown above are mentioned as real estate prices according to the ‘former methodology’. From 2017 onwards, a more comprehensive data set, including a detailed description of the property, was made available to Statbel. It provides two additional variables: the nature according to the deed of sale and the construction code.

This additional information makes it possible to further optimise the methodology:

  • In order to determine the type of building, we no longer use the nature mentioned in the cadastral plan, but the nature mentioned in the deed of sale. This nature is more up to date because it is identified (by the notary) at the time of each sale.
  • Houses are now objectively broken down according to the number of facades. The former method made the distinction between regular houses and villas, but this qualification is subjective. In the modified methodology, we now distinguish attached and semi-detached houses (2 or 3 facades) and detached houses (4 facades or more).

In the rest of the document, real estate prices calculated based on the nature in the deed of sale are mentioned as real estate prices according to the ‘new methodology’.

Building plots

The additional variables do not make it possible to calculate reference prices for building plots. The reason is that a large part of actual building plots was assigned to a residential category, in which we can find anything: agricultural lands, industrial lands, building plots, etc. This concerns more than 50 % of all building plots.

Other types of properties

In the same way, for non-residential properties (agriculture, commercial, etc.), the database of the land registry does not allow to calculate results. Properties in this category are very often sold in lots, with other plots with different purposes for a total price, so that it is not possible to calculate a price per individual property and therefore the median prices per category.

New buildings

In the former methodology, all transactions that were in the summary data set of the land registry were included in the calculation. It also included part of the new constructions.

Thanks to the more detailed data set available to Statbel since 2016 and after a joint analysis with the land registry, it appeared that not all actual new constructions were included in the data set and that the data on new constructions that were included were not always accurate. The land registry’s database does not allow to build up a correct picture of the total sales of new constructions. For this reason, the new optimised methodology only takes into account the secondary real estate market (resale) and all transactions relating to new constructions are eliminated.

Cleansing of data sets

The data sets provided by the land registry are cleaned in two ways.

On the one hand, all transactions that do not belong to the statistical universe are eliminated. These transactions are not taken into account in the calculation of the reference price or of the number of transactions. This concerns for example transfers due to inheritances. In the optimised methodology, new constructions are also eliminated.

In the same way, transactions for which essential data are unknown - e.g. the date of sale or the type of property - are also eliminated.

On the other hand, filters are used to identify missing data. In this case, the missing data make it possible to include transactions in the calculation of the number of transactions, but they are not taken into account in the calculation of the reference price. This concerns for example transactions for which only the price is missing. Transactions relating to the sale of several properties in one lot for an overall price are also included in this category.

Results

In the former methodology, the results calculated include average prices, median prices, percentile prices, the number of transactions, total prices and total surface areas.

In the new optimised methodology, the results calculated include median prices, percentile prices and the number of transactions.

The results are grouped per year, per semester or quarter, per type of dwelling and per location (municipalities, districts, provinces, regions and country).

Reference price: average price versus median price

For statistical breakdowns characterised by observations with extreme values (e.g. the sales price of real estate), it should be taken into account that the average, as the central measuring tool, is strongly influenced by these extreme values: an extreme value will steer the average towards it to a large extent.

The median price is a more appropriate measuring tool. This is the price against which 50% of transactions are cheaper and 50% more expensive. The influence of these extreme values on this measuring tool is minimal or non-existent: the median does not change, or hardly changes, if an extreme value is added to or removed from the calculation (unlike the average). So, the median price is a more stable measuring tool than the average price.

In Statbel's publications, the median price is used as reference price.

Percentile price

Percentile prices are additional measuring tools that, with the median price, give a better picture of the statistical breakdown of prices. The 25th percentile (also called the first quartile: Q25) is the price against which 25 % of transactions are as expensive or cheaper, while 75 % of transactions are as expensive or more expensive.

The 75th percentile (also called the third quartile: Q75) is the price against which 75 % of transactions are as expensive or cheaper, while 25 % of transactions are as expensive or more expensive.

Median and percentile prices are published only for 16 transactions with valid prices per aggregate, in order to achieve a certain degree of representativeness and to guarantee the confidentiality of individual data. The land registry’s database sometimes contains transactions with no valid price. These transactions are included in the total number of transactions, but not in the price calculation. If, for an aggregate, there is one or more transactions whose price is not valid, the number of transactions for which prices are shown will be greater than the limit of 16 transactions referred to above, in accordance with the number of transactions whose price is not valid.

Total price

Given the relatively high number of transactions for which the price is missing (especially since STIPAD), we no longer publish the total price in the new optimised methodology.

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