Belgium’s Luxury Real Estate Market Shatters Records in 2025
Belgium’s luxury property market reached an unprecedented milestone in 2025, with 2,079 homes and apartments valued at over €1 million changing hands — the first time the country has surpassed the 2,000-transaction threshold. The figure represents a 27.3% increase from the 1,633 luxury transactions recorded in 2024, according to data from the Federal Public Service Economy (SPF Économie / FOD Economie) analyzed by Christie’s International Real Estate Belgium.
The record-breaking performance in the luxury segment outpaced the broader Belgian residential market, which itself posted an all-time high of 156,497 transactions in 2025 — a 20.6% jump from the previous year.
Regional Breakdown: Flanders Dominates, Wallonia Surges
Flanders accounted for the lion’s share of luxury sales with 1,546 transactions (74.4% of the national total), up 27.5% from 1,213 in 2024. The Brussels-Capital Region recorded 311 sales (15.0%), a modest 10.2% increase, while Wallonia posted the most dramatic percentage growth — 60.9% — rising from 138 to 222 transactions, according to BouwenWonen.net.
Wallonia’s surge is largely attributed to the reduction of registration fees from 12.5% to 3% for primary residences, effective 1 January 2025. Jean-Marc Delcroix, Managing Partner of Christie’s International Real Estate Brussels, noted that the reform “not only stimulated overall house and apartment sales, but also gave the luxury segment an extra boost.”
Knokke-Heist: The Undisputed Epicenter
The coastal municipality of Knokke-Heist remains Belgium’s uncontested luxury capital, with 290 transactions above €1 million in 2025 — nearly one in seven of all such sales nationwide. Of these, 189 were apartments and 101 were houses. Bart Van Delm, Managing Director of Hillewaere Vastgoed and Christie’s International Real Estate Belgium, described Knokke as “hors catégorie in our country,” noting that more million-euro properties are sold there than in all of Wallonia and almost as many as in the entire Brussels-Capital Region.
Despite the volume, median prices in Knokke dipped slightly: apartments settled at €1.485 million (down 3.9%) and houses at €1.9 million (down 7.3%), suggesting that even luxury buyers are negotiating more aggressively.
Emerging Hotspots and the “Million Triangle”
The geographical spread of luxury transactions is widening. The number of municipalities recording 10 or more luxury sales grew from 31 in 2024 to 44 in 2025, according to the data.
A cross-regional “Million Triangle” is taking shape around southeastern Brussels, anchored by three cores: Uccle-Ixelles in the Brussels Region, Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, and Lasne in Walloon Brabant. Lasne led Wallonia with 44 transactions in 2025 — double its 2024 figure — while Uccle topped Brussels with 99 sales. Delcroix described Lasne as functioning “like an oil slick,” pushing up prices in surrounding municipalities such as Waterloo (28 transactions) and Braine-l’Alleud (21).
In Flanders, Antwerp saw a remarkable 45% year-on-year increase to 129 luxury transactions, while Ghent recorded 90 sales (up 32.4%).
Who Is Buying?
The buyer profile is surprisingly diverse. Julie Carlier, Head of Kretz & Partners Brussels, described a varied clientele: “On one hand we have an international clientele, whether Eurocrats or expatriates who come to Belgium, most often to Brussels or the surrounding areas. But we also have Belgian families, old families, entrepreneurs, liberal professions.”
French buyers remain a significant presence, though their motivations have shifted. “Fiscal exile was before,” Delcroix explained. “Today, taxation has evolved here. Some of our French clients are returning to France.” Instead, lifestyle factors — space, greenery, proximity to Paris — are driving French interest in Belgian luxury properties.
A notable trend is the increasing presence of Flemish buyers in traditionally French-speaking areas. Delcroix observed that Dutch-speaking buyers are now purchasing luxury properties not only in Flanders and Flemish Brabant but also in Brussels (Ixelles and Uccle) and even in Walloon cities such as Liège, Tournai, and Namur.
Outlook for 2026
Despite geopolitical shocks — including Israeli-American bombings on Iran in late February 2026 and rising mortgage rates — the luxury segment shows no signs of slowing. Q1 2026 data from Hillewaere/Christie’s already indicates 50% more luxury transactions than the same period in 2025.
“We expect that the buyer in the luxury segment still has appetite for correctly priced, quality properties in the best locations,” Van Delm said.
However, experts caution that luxury buyers have become more discerning. Properties with overly ambitious asking prices, poor energy performance, or less exceptional locations are staying on the market longer. The key to continued momentum, analysts suggest, will be correct pricing and prime positioning.
With the registration fee differential between regions narrowing and the “Million Triangle” expanding, Belgium’s luxury real estate market appears poised for further growth — though the question of whether Brussels will reform its 12.5% registration fee to remain competitive looms large.