Sales of flats on the Flemish coast increased in the first half of this year, following a decline in the same period last year. Prices also shot up by 6.5 per cent. The median price rose to 272,000 euros; for a flat on the seafront, it stands at 335,000 euros according to new figures from Belgian notaries.
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Prices of flats on Flemish coast shoot up by 6.5 per cent as demand too picks up
Colin Clapson
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Sales of houses and flats on the coast rose by 8 per cent in the first half of the year, whilst the property market in the rest of Flanders contracted slightly (-0.8 per cent). Following a ‘property tsunami’ during the Covid years of 2020 and 2021, the coastal property market had also struggled in recent years.
“Since last year, we have seen an increase in transactions once again and it is clear that the downturn has been overcome,” says Bart van Opstal, spokesperson for the notaries’ federation. This trend continued into the first half of this year. “We are now returning to a more normal level of property activity on the coast.”
Flats have also become more expensive
Flats on the coast have also become more expensive. The median price for a flat on the coast was 272,000 euros in the first half of this year. That is 6.7 per cent more than a year ago.
For flats on the seafront, there was a 4.7 per cent rise to 335,000 euros. The price of seafront apartments ranged from 260,000 euros in the resort of De Panne to 1.5 million euros in jet-set Knokke. The vast majority of buyers of a seafront apartment (85 per cent) are Flemish. Just over half are purchased by people aged 50 and over.
“Our coast is once again proving particularly popular with property buyers,” says van Opstal. “The region has plenty of advantages: it is close by, easily accessible and less exposed to extreme heat than destinations further afield.”