In one year, building an average single-family house has become €37,000 more expensive, the business consultancy Bouwunie calculated on Wednesday and reported by Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen and Belang van Limburg.
According to Bouwunie's latest research, there are still increases in prices to come, which has been also echoed by architects and people in the field.
"In December 2021, building a single-family home cost an average of €270,000. Today, if you want to build the same house with the same materials, you will pay €307,000," said Jean-Pierre Waeytens, Managing Director at Bouwunie. He sees the cost price of new construction thus increasing by just under 14%.
Architect Vincent Van Den Broecke fears that it will not stop there.
"From 1 January, materials will be up to 30% more expensive." The unsurprising culprits for the rising energy prices and the effect on labour costs.
According to Van Den Broecke, there is only one solution to keep new construction affordable for prospective builders. "We have to build in a different way, live more compactly and move away from materials that require too much energy to produce."
