Despite property sales in Brabant Wallonia’s province having fallen by 8.21% in 2023, it is still the most expensive Walloon province, according to figures released by the Federation of Notaries on Monday during Real Estate Week.
Blamed largely on rising mortgage interest rates, the decrease in sales coincides with dwindling house prices (down 0.50% from the previous year at €375,000) even when omitting inflation considerations. Despite this decrease, Brabant remains the priciest province in Wallonia.
Simultaneously, the median apartment price has seen a steeper decline of 3.5%, now standing at €245,000, keeping Brabant’s figures the highest across all Walloon provinces.
“It was a very poor year,” summarises honorary notary Jean-Paul Mignon of Ittre. However, Brabant’s decrease was comparatively the least severe, with the regional average decrease resting at 12.1%.
The relatively flat movement must also take into account the inflation rate of 4.6% in 2023 when interpreting the median house price of €375,000 in Brabant, which is €165,000 higher than the regional median.
For the notaries, this price stagnation, a 19% increase over five years, is primarily due to a significant hike in interest rates from 1.32% in January 2022 to 3.38% in January 2023.
As for apartments, their median price fell by 3.5% over a year to €245,000 in Brabant. Apartments represent 27.1% of the market share versus 72.9% for houses. In contrast, the price for building land has increased by 2.8%, now valued at €180 per square metre.
