Belgium is the only country in the world where road bicycle racing is the most important national sport. Buying a home in Belgium is the best solution for road-racing-lovers who wish to reach the biggest road bicycle races – that include the Paris-Roubaix and the Liège-Bastogne-Liège – easily.

This is the right moment to buy a real estate property in Belgium. The Belgian property market has not been severely affected by the global crisis; nonetheless, there was a 5%-fall in the past two years and in the latest two months the market has shown some signs of recovery.

Liège can be a good place for cycling lovers. It is one of the major cities in Belgium and the main economic and cultural centre in Wallonia. Liège is being highly promoted due to the restoration of old city-centre homes that is making prices rise. Here, it is possible to buy old buildings for 1500 euros per square metre – to which it is necessary to add 500 euros per square metre for restoration and modernization works.

For those who prefer to purchase a home on rolling hills among dense forests and fascinating ridges there are very interesting investment opportunities on the Ardennes. This region is ideal for cycling, hunting and canoeing and is becoming a very popular tourist destination. Houses for sale here are among the cheapest in the country, indeed, prices do not rise thanks to the high availability of properties for sale. Medium and high-level homes here cost about 1100 euros per square metre. There are only a few luxury properties in the area: for example, it is also possible to buy old houses – on which the new owner can make some modernization works – with large plots of land. An already-renovated farm on the Ardennes with a 20,000-sqm plot of land can be bought for 800 thousand euros.

There are many areas in Belgium – except for Brussels – where homes for sale – with large gardens and cultivable land – are not expensive. Flanders is much more built-up and populated; therefore, rural properties have higher prices.

The South is cheap, except for Namur area – the capital of Wallonia that is an important commercial, industrial and tourist centre – and the areas bordering the Netherlands and Luxembourg, where prices have risen.

Prices are cheap but additional costs are high. The commission in Belgium is paid by the seller and is around 3%, but the buyer must pay the registration fee – that varies from 10% in Flanders to 12.5% in Brussels and in Wallonia – to which it is necessary to add notarial charges that go from 0,5% to 1%. For a new property, it is necessary to pay a 21%-VAT.

Click on the following links to learn more about interesting investment destinations in Europe:

-          Italy: prices rise in the areas served by low-cost airlines

-          Cortona (Italy): prices are stable but the number of transactions is decreasing

-          Scotland: Real estate market trend in Edinburgh and Leith

-          Renting an island off the coast of Spain is possible

-          Switzerland: it is difficult for foreign investors to buy a home in St.Moritz

-          Real estate prices are falling in Ireland

-          Hunting for real estate bargains in Paris

-          Real estate investment opportunities in Minorca

-          Italy: prestige real estate properties for sale in Bormio

-          Balearic Islands: the high-end market is successful

-          The opportunities offered by the real estate market of Pollino National Park

-          United Kingdom: Environment-friendly houses for sale in Cornwall

-          Porto Montenegro: Luxury is now affordable to everyone

Moving to Europe

Moving to Portugal              Moving to Germany               Moving to France                   Moving to England

Moving to Malta                   Moving to Albania                 Moving to Andorra                  Moving to Austria

Moving to Belarus               Moving to Belgium                 Moving to Bosnia                   Moving to Bulgaria

Moving to Cyprus             Moving to Italy                     Moving to Croatia                Moving to Czech Republic