House prices increase by more than one-fifth in Uccle

While there were understandably fewer transactions last year in the housing market in Brussels, prices went up by an average of over 7%. Two municipalities are largely responsible for that: In Saint-Gilles, houses and apartments together increased in price by no less than 19% on the previous year, while house prices in Uccle increased by a massive 21%.

The figures were calculated by the Royal Federation of Belgian Notaries, Fednot, and are based on real estate transactions signed in 2020. The prices in Uccle, where half of all houses cost €632,000 or more last year, are due to families wanting to buy larger spaces with gardens – a direct result of the corona crisis.

Some properties saw bidding wars break out, with prices paid that were well above asking. This is unprecedented in Belgium.

‘Sit outside without a facemask’

“Corona really focused the market there,” notary Stijn Joye told Bruzz. “People who already wanted to buy were willing to take it a step further to get the house of their choice, and to sit outside in the evening without a facemask.”

This was a phenomenon seen across the region, with bidding wars on houses with gardens and apartments with terraces in popular communes. The average price paid for an apartment in the Capital-Region was €242,500 and for a house €440,000, an overall increase of 7.3% on the year before.

When taking in all of Belgium, seven Brussels municipalities are in the most expensive top 10 for houses. Aside from Uccle, they include Etterbeek, Ixelles, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Watermael-Boitsfort and Auderghem.

 
Ixelles is still the most expensive when it comes to houses ©Luxevastgoed.be

While Uccle certainly saw the greatest price increase in Brussels last year, it is still not the most expensive municipality in the region. That prize goes to Ixelles – the most expensive municipality in which to buy a house in all of Belgium. The average price for a house in Ixelles is €635,000.

Ixelles comes in third for apartment prices, beaten by Knokke-Heist at the coast and Wezenbeek-Oppem in the Brussels periphery. The average apartment price in Ixelles is €305,000. Uccle and the Woluwes are also in the top 10 most expensive for apartment prices.

Photo, top: Workspace and back gardens: Uccle is the place to be
©Luxevastgoed.be