Most People in Belgium Still Prefer to Own Their Home
New statistics show that Belgians still prefer buying homes to renting. In 2015, the home ownership percentage in Belgium was 71.4%, relatively high to it’s neighbouring countries in western Europe.
The shift from property-owning to renting took hold in post-WW2 western Europe as more people moved to the cities for work. This shift has continued as countries become less agricultural and more urban, and renting offers newcomers a way to live and work in the city without a loan or large deposit.
These changed attitudes towards homeowning can be seen throughout western Europe as countries like Germany and Austria have over 40% renting population, and countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Finland having a constant and significant increase in their renter population every year from 2010 to 2015.
However, Belgium’s rent share has remained constant over the past 5 years and has only increased by just 0.7%, with the current percentage of 28.6% flatlining in 2015.
Although renting is on the rise in many western European countries, Switzerland is currently the only population with a renting majority (56.6%), but with a growing trend across the continent, many countries including Belgium, may start to follow.
