Flemish rents are at record high: “Average rent above 800 euros for the first time”

“The average rent in the second half of 2021 was 803 euros, compared to 792 euros in the spring,” says Kristophe Thijs, communications director at CIB Vlaanderen. Over the whole of 2021, the average rent in Flanders was 797 euros, an increase of 2.5% compared to 2020. Rents are expected to climb again this year due to high inflation.

For the first time, the Rental Barometer also makes a comparison with rents in Brussels and Wallonia. In Brussels the average rent is 1,181 euros, in the southern part of the country 751 euros. “The rents in Wallonia are not much lower than in Flanders. This has to do with the fact that slightly more rental houses are offered in Wallonia than in Flanders,” says Thijs.

Especially detached houses

Broken down by type of dwelling, all rents rose in Flanders, with the exception of those for rooms. Detached houses in particular became more expensive: +4.7 percent to 1,098 euros. “That is partly explained by the location and the target audience,” says Thijs. “A quarter of all lettings of detached houses take place in the outskirts around Brussels, in the most expensive Flemish province. Many wealthy expats, diplomats and personnel from international companies hire there.” A detached house in Flemish Brabant costs an average of 1,544 euros per month. Only Antwerp is also above 1,000 euros.

Flemish Brabant remains the most expensive province for all types of housing, with the exception of studios, which are the most expensive in Antwerp. Antwerp remains the most expensive of the central cities, with an average rent of more than 950 euros. Mechelen and Leuven have indeed narrowed the gap. “Antwerp will soon no longer be the only city where you as a tenant pay more than 900 euros per month and where you have to look outside the center for lower prices,” says the CIB.

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