Last year, 18.4 percent fewer homes were sold in West Flanders. This is mainly due to rising interest rates. If the market cools down, you would think that prices would also drop. But they are increasing, partly due to investors who buy up real estate to rent out. Bart van Opstal, spokesperson for Notaris.be: “They are not disadvantaged by the fact that interest rates have risen in 2023. They continue to purchase. The second reason is that you obviously come from a time when a lot was purchased: in 2021 and 2022. And now you have a setback. And despite that decline, sellers are not yet prepared to lower their prices, because in many cases they are not in a hurry.”