More bad news for the sector real estate in Belgium. An explosion in the inflation rate has recently been observed in the country, an increase which more specifically concerns new housing.
According to the report published online by Statbel, the annual inflation rate for house prices increased by 0.3 percentage points in a single quarter. In plain terms, this rate increased from 2,8 % in the last quarter of 2023 to 3.1% in the first quarter of the current year.
A significant increase in the inflation rate for new housing
This sharp increase in the inflation rate was reported last Monday by Statbel, the Belgian statistics office responsible for calculating the housing price index quarterly in accordance with European regulations. According to the same source, the increase observed during the last quarter is mainly attributable to thea sharp rise in the inflation rate new housing and newly built houses.
The highest rate recorded in two years
The housing price index is established from real estate transaction data collected by the FPS Finances. It was found that the annual inflation for new housing amounted to 6.9% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 2.9% in the previous quarter. This is the highest rate recorded for more than two years. On the other hand, for existing housing, annual inflation is more moderate, standing at 2.3% compared to 2.7% in the previous period.
“The house price index can be divided into two categories: new housing and existing housing. In the first quarter of 2024, annual inflation amounts to 6.9% for new housing and 2.3% for existing housing. The respective weights of these two categories in the overall index are 21.4% and 78.6% for the year 2024,” states the latest report published by Statbel. It is also noted that the annual inflation rate for house prices is higher in Flanders, estimated at 2.8%, than Bruxelles (1.5%) or Wallonia (0.9%), as also reported by Statbel.
“The housing price index is based on real estate transaction data from the General Administration of Heritage Documentation of the FPS Finances. The results of the last quarters are considered provisional and may be reviewed during the following quarter following the availability of additional data,” specifies the organization.
