In Belgium, the coronavirus had a major impact on the real estate market, where a significant drop was felt, as everywhere in the world, during the second quarter of 2020. The number of transactions fell by 15.9% compared to 2019. However, since the end of the confinement, the situation seems to be improving, the average price of a house having exceeded 200,000 euros in Wallonia.
Due to the coronavirus, real estate transactions have returned to the figures observed in 2015. For more than 5 years, they have never been so low. Thus, during the second quarter of 2020, the number of transactions decreased by 10.7% compared to the same period in 2019.
It should be noted that with the abolition of the housing bonus, 2020 has not been a promising year for the real estate market. Long before the Covid-19 and deprived of the woonbonus in Flanders, owners no longer had the possibility of benefiting from a tax deduction, which discouraged some from making a first investment or expanding their property portfolio. The health crisis has not improved the situation.
In June, transactions gradually resumed. Pre-confinement files have been relaunched in order to make up for the accumulated delay and to minimize the damage. People in search of real estate who had to put this project on hold also participated in the resumption of activities in the real estate market. In general, since the easing of lockdown measures, individuals have started buying residential property again, while some investors are still struggling to take the plunge.
The coronavirus has not affected real estate transactions in the same way across all 3 regions of Belgium. In Flanders and Brussels, the impact has been greater than in Wallonia. In fact, the number of transactions fell by 17.7% in Flanders and 17.2% in Brussels against 12.3% in Wallonia, if we compare the figures for the 2nd quarter of 2020 with those for the same period of the previous year.
The first half of 2020 was undeniably difficult in Flanders with a 12.6% drop compared to 2019, while in Brussels and Wallonia, the fall was less marked with 7.9% and 7.7% drops, respectively.
Renaud Grégoire, spokesperson for notaire.be, says it would be hasty to say that the coronavirus has indeed upset real estate prices. However, we cannot deny that the way we work has changed. Faced with the crisis, administrative procedures had to be reinvented. We have to wait a few months to have a more exhaustive idea of the real repercussions of the coronavirus on property prices in Belgium.
However, we can comment that we have witnessed the smallest increase in property prices for 5 years. In Belgium, in the first half of 2020, a house was close to 267,040 euros. With inflation at 0.3%, a small 1.9% increase of 1.9% in prices, compared to 2019, cannot have a big impact.
After 5 years, houses in Wallonia sell for 16% more on average. In other words, they increase in value by 28,000 euros, or 14,000 euros if we consider inflation. This increase has enabled housing to reach and exceed 200,000 euros in the south of Belgium. Despite this significant rise, a house in this region costs 65.00 euros less than the average price in Belgium.
However, Hainaut remains the only province in Wallonia with relatively low real estate prices: a house costs on average 161,256 euros. Thus, it is the only place in Belgium where houses are worth less than 200,000 euros. The province of Liège offers housing with an average price of 200,714 euros.
Contact the Engel & Völkers agency closest to you and we will schedule a covid-aware appointment at your convenience.