“As of December 2021, the construction of a single-family house cost an average of 270,000 euros. If you want to build the same house today with the same materials, you pay 307,000 euros,” says Jean-Pierre Waeytens, managing director of Bouwunie. He sees the cost of new construction rising by just under 14%.
Architect Vincent Van Den Broecke fears it won’t stop there: “From January 1, 2023, the material will be up to 30% more expensive.” The reason for this is not surprising: Rising energy prices and high wage costs are the culprits.
According to Van Den Broecke, there is only one solution to keep new construction accessible to potential developers. “We need to start building differently, live more compactly and move away from materials that require too much energy to produce,” he says.
