More and more Dutch Home Seekers Are Looking For A Rental Or Owner-Owner-OcCupied Home Just Across The Border with Belgium. Several Belgian Real Estate Agents Have Noticed This, Accordance to a Survey by Press Agency ANP. Houses in The Neighboring Country Are Considerly Cheaper.
For Example, Tenants Come to Belgium Because of the Scarcity on the Dutch Rental Market and Buyers because of the Large Price Difference, Says Belgian Real Estate Agent Stijn Adams. His Real Estate Organization de Boer & Partners is One of the Larger Players on the Belgian Real Estate Market with Sixteen Offices.
At Some Belgian Real Estate Agents in the Border Area Between Belgium and the Netherlands, The customer base consists of 80 percent Dutch, Accordance to the Belgian Federation of Real Estate Agents CIB.
“That is Largely because many Rental Properties Were Sold in the Netherlands Last Year,” Says Communications Director Kristophe Thijs. “In the Border Area you see a Rush of Dutch People Wanting to Go to Belgium.”
The Lower Prices for Owner-OcCupied Homes Make Belgium Attactive. “For the price of a terraced house in Breda, you can buy a villa on 1,000 square meters of land in Meersel-Dreef,” Adams Explains. “The Dutch Get Considerably More House for Their Money Here.” Meersel-Dreef is A Village in the Province of Antwerp, Just Across The Dutch Border.
Development Likely to Continue in the Coming Years
Accordance to Adams, More and More Dutch People Will Try Their Luck in the Neighboring Country in the Coming Years. “I Expect That Dutch Investors Will also find Their Way to Belgium, Especial Due to the Negative Tax Climate in the Netherlands,” He says. As long as the price Difference is so Large and the Housing Shortage in the Netherlands Persists, This Trend Will Continue, The Real Estate Agent Expects.
Charlotte Beyers, Belgian Real Estate Expert, also Recognizes The Development. “Dutch People come here from all corners,” She sees. “Not only from Breda, for example, but also from the Hague, Rotterdam and Eindhoven. The Reason is Purely the Price and the Lack of Supply in the Netherlands.”
That is a difficult development for Belgians. “We also have scarcity, which mean that rental prices are rising seriously,” Says director Thijs of Real Estate Network CIB. “In Some Municipalities, Rental Prices have risen by 10 to 15 percent in one year.” With the massive arrival of Dutch People, Belgians are more or left empty-handed. “In Smaller Municipalities We have An Average of 50 Applications for a Rental Property, With Outliers Up to 250 Candidates.”