Housing costs drive record moves between regions, study shows
A record number of people in Belgium moved between the country’s regions last year, according to the Flemish real estate sector federation CIB. The majority were leaving Brussels for either Flanders or Wallonia.
A total of 73,870 people moved to a different region, with more than half – 37,613 – being Brussels residents leaving the capital. “Most people who move from Brussels to Flanders or Wallonia do so because their money is worth more there,” CIB spokesperson Kristophe Thijs said. “Housing is much more expensive in Brussels, sometimes even costing a third more.”
Brussels residents who move away tend to settle in the Walloon or Flemish periphery, to maintain connections with the capital.
'Urban exodus'
Every year, CIB analyses the number of moves between the three regions and sees a trend of “fiscal competition”, it said in a press release. “The Brussels region wants to keep fiscally interesting profiles (two-income households) on its territory and has adapted property taxation several times to this end. But the policy just does not seem to succeed in its objective. The urban exodus remains a fact.”
There were also movements in the other direction, with 10,856 people moving from Flanders to Brussels and 8,532 moving from Wallonia to the capital. People’s main motivation was to live closer to their place of work, Thijs said.
A total of 7,496 people moved from Flanders to Wallonia, and 9,373 people made the reverse move. “The Flemings who settle in Wallonia do so mainly because of lower property prices,” Thijs said.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO BELPRESS
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