Houses in the province of Luxembourg have seen the biggest price increase in 2022
Not only the prices of houses but also those of apartments have increased this year. The 5.3% increase even corresponds to that of apartments (5.7%). Immoweb talks about the end of “the real surge in houses following confinements and a greater need for space”.
Rural areas on the coast
The impact of the Covid pandemic is still manifesting in regional differences in the real estate market, according to the real estate platform. There seems to continue to be a “remarkable interest in rural areas”. Indeed, in Flanders, the increase was 5.6%, against 5.9% in Wallonia and 4.6% in Brussels. As far as the provinces are concerned, real estate has become more expensive, especially in Limburg (7.3%) and Luxembourg (7.0%). At the urban level, Mons (8.4%) and Hasselt and Bruges (7.3%) stand out.
According to Piet Derriks, managing director of Immoweb, despite rising prices, it is always good to “take the plunge” and buy a property. However, buyers must “realize that the commitment they make by becoming owners weighs more heavily than a few years ago”. “Because credit costs are soaring, buying today takes longer to become attractive compared to renting,” Derriks said.
Immoweb speaks well of a “slowdown in price growth” which will continue in the fourth quarter. “Nationally, prices have risen 0.8% since October 1 in a market that seems to be gradually losing momentum,” it read. The real estate platform attributes this market slowdown, on the one hand to the “long period of overheating following the corona crisis”, and on the other hand, to the time of year which is “traditionally the calmest” for the real estate market.
Finally, the decline in purchasing power in recent months has also been reflected in the real estate market. According to data from Immoweb, a family that could afford a 105 m² house at the beginning of the year can only afford 83 m². Although Immoweb expects this real estate purchasing power to rise to 91 m² in January due to wage indexation for many Belgians.