Our housing specialist Bjorn Cocquyt has been visiting leading properties and real estate projects at home and abroad for more than 10 years. In our Pureliving section, he gives his vision of exclusive living.
Each day in our country an average of almost three houses or flats above one million euros are sold. Luxury real estate has never been so popular. “Corona has greatly increased the focus on beautiful and comfortable living,” says Hillewaere Real Estate, which specialises in the middle and upper segments.
After the outbreak of the financial and economic crisis a good 12 years ago, the market for luxury real estate took a heavy dive in many parts of our country, especially in the province of Antwerp. But for a few years now, the segment has again been shifting up a few gears. While 810 million homes were sold in 2017, last year there were even 984, according to an analysis by Hillewaere Vastgoed, based on Statbel figures. That is an increase of over 20 percent.
The trend clearly continues in 2020. “What is striking is that buyers are very price-conscious,” says Roel Druyts of Hillewaere Vastgoed. “We see that, for example, a newly built villa in most cases struggles to reach the cost price in resale. In other words, no bonus is paid in this segment to have a property at one’s disposal quickly, whereas this is often the case today in the lower segments.”
Not entirely surprisingly, with 195 transactions, Knokke-Heist leads in sales in the luxury segment There, not only Belgians, but also Germans, Dutch and Luxembourgers are willing to put more than 2 million euro on the table.
In the province of Antwerp, 129 houses and 42 flats were sold for at least one million euro. “Here we clearly notice that the number of projects with luxury flats is increasing. And especially the prices per square metre are rising sharply. Corona seems to have little influence on sales. In June, for example, we sold an average of two million properties a week,” says Roel Druyts.
“By European standards, the city of Antwerp is still very cheap in this segment. Certainly the southern edge of the Scheldt city is experiencing boom times, as the Ring Road remains a mobility problem. On the other hand, we are also seeing Dutch people crossing the border again because of the announced changes to the wealth tax in our northern neighbourhood. This may soon turn out to be advantageous for those who want to sell a luxurious property in the north of the province.
Compact and with outbuilding
Strikingly, the really large properties, with a manège for example, are finding it much harder to find a buyer today. “Luxurious homes that are more compact, but with a much higher level of finishing, on the other hand, are particularly popular. All spaces are used here and there is often room for wellness, fitness, cinema or swimming pool. And there is definitely more attention than before for stylish outdoor spaces. For example, homes today have a very luxuriously appointed annexe, which sometimes has a price tag of two normal homes.”
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