The Flemish rental market continued to struggle with a structural shortage of supply during 2025. Meanwhile, demand remained high while the number of new rental properties fell.
Historic fall in number of properties available for rent in Flanders and Brussels
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The real estate agents’ confederation (CIB) and the real estate insurer Korfine’s annual Rental Market Barometer that was published on Wednesday morning shows a further reduction in the number of properties available on the private rental market in Flanders and Brussels. In Flanders, fewer than 50,000 new rental contracts were registered in 2025. This is a historic low. CIB says that 2025 figures have crossed “a symbolic but above all painful threshold”. The 2025 figures contrast greatly with those from 2021, when a record 60,000 new rentals were registered in CIB’s database. CIB’s Communications Director Kristophe Thijs warns that “The lack of government incentives to invest in the rental market is increasingly being felt.”
Despite the fall in supply, rental price growth slowed in 2025 compared with previous years. Rental prices in Flanders rose by 4.5%. Although this is still above the rate of inflation, it is still lower than the sharp increases seen in 2023 and 2024.
CIB expects prices to continue rising in the coming years. Not least because increases in the level of rents reflect an increase in the quality of the properties that are put up for rent. Around 40% of rental properties on the market have improved energy ratings, and last year nearly a quarter of newly rented homes had an A label for energy efficiency last year. This compares with 13% in 2020.
Flats are a dominant force
Flats remain the dominant force in the private rental market. They account for more than two-thirds of new rentals. At 907 euro/month, in 2025 the average rent for an flat in Flanders rose to above 900 euro for the first time, reaching 907 euros, while the median rental price stood at 855 euros. Across all property types, the average rent was 966 euro/month.
Flemish Brabant remains the province with the most expensive province. The average monthly rent paid for a flat or house in Flemish Brabant rose from 1,039 to 1,114 euro. Limburg saw the sharpest rise in rental prices (+5.4%). Among city centres, Leuven remains the most expensive, while Mechelen overtook Antwerp to take second place in 2025.
Mounting pressure on Brussels’ housing market
In Brussels, supply is also shrinking. CIB says that fewer than 9,000 rental contracts were signed in the capital in 2025. This compares with more than 11,000 in 2021. CIB is critical of the outgoing regional government, saying that it “remains blind” to the structural issues on the capital’s property market.
The CEO of Korfine Patrick Boterbergh says that although Brussels figures may appear stable at first glance, “structurally, the lights are on red. There is less supply, less investment, and persistently high prices. Without a policy shift, this threatens to become a permanent issue.”
After steep increases in 2023 (+8.8%) and 2024 (+5.5%) rental price growth in Brussels slowed to 3.7% 2025. However, apartments That account for 85% of rentals still recorded a 5.1% price rise. The average rent for an apartment in the capital now stands at 1,330 euro, with a median of 1,250 euro. For the first time, both average and median rents in all Brussels municipalities have risen above 1,000 euro/month.