The Belgians may have a brick in their stomachs, but the times are getting tougher and tougher for those who would like to build their own homes. This is all that emerges from recent probes carried out in the sector.
Houses that are increasingly inaccessible to young buyers, materials whose prices are soaring due to the Covid crisis, the war in Ukraine and rising energy costs,… The housing market eal estate has evolved enormously since the beginning of the century. With, as another example, the fact that, from 2003, more permits were issued for the construction of new apartments than for the construction of single-family dwellings. And that, from 2007, the number of building permits granted for the renovation of residential buildings generally becomes higher than that of building permits granted for new residential constructions.
Construction sector: “Belgians take their energy bill into account”
Another strong trend: the number of building permits issued each year for residential construction fell by 4% in Belgium during the period from 2012 to 2021 compared to the previous decade.
Construction sector: still 15,000 to 20,000 vacancies in Belgium
In Wallonia, where the authorities have recorded a 20% drop in the number of building permits granted annually between 2002-2011 and 2012-2021, no entity is spared from this trend. From Tournai to Arlon via Verviers, all the French-speaking districts of the country have issued fewer authorizations of this kind during the last decade studied entirely by Statbel.
As proof, Dinant, which is nevertheless the living area that best resists the scarcity of builders, recorded an 8% drop in the granting of building permits during the period from 2012 to 2021 compared to the decade former.
Conversely, the neighboring entity of Philippeville has seen a collapse in construction and renovation requests. Over the past ten years, local authorities have validated an average of 81 fewer permits each year than during the previous period (2002-2011):
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