Bruges, For families who are in Bruges want to live, but a house is too expensive, there might be a solution. The city always remains the owner of the land, but the houses are the property of the residents. “Now land or homes to do this find”, says alderman of Spatial Planning, Franky Demon.

you Dream of a home or apartment in the heart of Bruges? You should have a solid price to pay for it. A flat is in the region of Bruges-Koolkerke in a year with 10.3 percent more expensive. Bruges is the third most expensive metropolis of the country, after the Leuven and Ghent. You pay an average of 241.000 € for a flat. In Ghent is that 256.000 euro, but in Antwerp 200,000 euros.

Also in the suburbs and by the sea swing the prices back to the pan. A small flat in Zeebrugge may 211.167 euro, an average of 46.000 euros cheaper than in the heart of Bruges, opposite to 2017, they were significantly more expensive (+ 12.4 percent). “As a result of the attraction of the coast”, says notary Bart van Opstal, spokesman of the civil-law Notary.be. Compared to 2014, increased the price for a flat is the most in Sint-Andries and Sint-Michiels, with more than 21 percent.

‘Community land trust’

Homes were in 2018, the most expensive in Sint-Andries and Sint-Michiels (309.013 euro) and the cheapest in the more rural Dudzele (253.116 euro). In comparison with 2017 were the prices in Assebroek and Sint-Kruis the most on forward. There, they rose in one year’s time by almost 3 percent to 285.034 euro. Compared to 2014 was the largest rise in prices for residential houses in the heart of the city note (+ more than 14 percent to 273.094 euro).

The city of Bruges has a plan ready to live more affordable for families who are difficult to have a home of their own. “We want to 700 new and 1,200 renovated social housing, at 2024,” says the alderman of Spatial Planning, Franky Demon (CD&V). “But there is also a group of people who are just too much win for social housing, but still has trouble. For them, we start with a ‘community land trust’. This is an organization that bought ground and operates as a common good. The ownership of the land is separated from that of the building. The city always remains the owner of the land. The homes are owned by their residents, via leasehold contracts. They get the same rights and responsibilities as a regular owner.” The city has no grounds on the eye, but also looking for old, energy-wasting homes. “We can refurbish and re-sell, in which the city continues to own the land.”

Nuance

Broker Guy Delbecque, who for almost forty years in the profession, qualifies the ever-higher prices. “Bruges is not more expensive than other cities. People often think that in Bruges is expensive to live, because it is so pretty here. But the reverse is true. In practice I notice that live just more affordable, because developers are finding ways to difficult locations however, something to realize.” Delbecque cites the example of The Bell in Sint-Andries: “There are homes with a price of 270,000 euros. They count at least three bedrooms. That is affordable, close to train station and motorway and also within a short distance of the city centre. So there is actually something to find for young families.”