The value of property in Brussels has varied annually since 2007, by 10 to 15% (both increase and decrease), according to the Property market Commission of the Brussels Union of Expert Surveyors (UGEB). It was drawing up an evolution of the residential property market in the capital on Thursday. The Commission’s analysis is on one-family properties, investment properties, and flats. It does not include commercial properties or new properties. Every year, the Commission evaluates the property market by drawing up an indicator that takes into account the surface area, the quality of the location and the equipment in the property. Several hundred properties were used to create different indicators. The Surveyor’s Union thinks they can give “a reflection of the quality of the market”.
For one-family houses for public sale, the Commission’s 2014 indicator has gone up by 8.5% compared to 2013. For private sale, the average indicator has gone down by 4%. Altogether, the market has remained quite stable, and the gap between the two types of sale has gotten smaller. The gap between the South-East and North-West is again very large. The large old energy-consuming villas are less popular due to the large cost of making them energy efficient, the Commission has said.
The difference between public sale and private sale is biggest for investment properties. The average indicator has gone down (-3%) for the first, and gone up 10% for the second. The surveyors say that properties on public sale are generally in bad condition, and many have planning permission problems.
For flats, “there is still a large gap between the worst and best locations, with prices sometimes below 1000 m² for certain neighbourhoods in Molenbeek or Anderlecht, for example. However, prices can be as much as 2,500 euros per m² in the two Woluwe (Saint-Lambert and Saint-Pierre), says the Commission. They note that flats in large apartment buildings are continually becoming less popular. Prices have barely changed in a year. A property on public sale can go for 1,626 euro per m², while in a private sale it can go for 1,919 euros per m².
(Source: Belga)
