The average Belgian family has a wealth of around 250,000 euros

The average Belgian family has €249,301, according to research by online bank Keytrade Bank and Ghent University. This capital consists mainly of real estate.

In the news: With a capital of €249,301, the average Belgian family is wealthier than the average European family, according to a survey conducted by Keytrade Bank and Ghent University among 1,903 citizens. Belgian assets were taken into account between 5 December 2023 and 10 January 2024.

• The average household wealth in Europe was €123,500 in 2021. This is less than half of what Belgian families have (today).
• The average Belgian wealth is even higher at €437,273, but researchers believe the average wealth gives a more realistic picture of how wealthy a Belgian is. “Average wealth gives a distorted picture because large assets give this number a huge boost,” says Koen Engelbrecht, professor of financial economics at Ghent University.
• The researchers add that Belgian families have lost their purchasing power over the past two years. For example, assets increased by only 2.8% during that period, while inflation reached 9.6% in 2022 and 4.1% the following year.

The Belgian family’s wealth consists mainly of real estate

details: Real estate remains the most important building block of our capital.

• According to research, Belgians invest 58.8% of their assets in the family home.
• In addition, 30 percent of our citizens invest in additional real estate. In total, approximately 25 percent of assets are invested in other properties such as second homes or rental homes. If we take this number into account, 80% of the average Belgian family’s wealth consists of real estate.
• “The Belgian’s preference for real estate is reflected not only in the composition of his assets, but also in the composition of his financial debts. “There we also see that a home loan for an owner-occupied home represents 60 percent of the debt and home loans for other properties represent 24 percent of the total debt,” says Thierry. Turner, CEO of Keytrade Bank.

More numbers: Furthermore, research shows that 12.8% of our assets are in a savings or other account, such as a term deposit.

• The average Belgian family has savings of €25,984. Of this amount, about 77 percent is in a savings account, 6.3 percent is in a term account, and 14 percent is in a current account.
• I noticed: 40% of Belgian households have more than 12 times their net monthly income in their savings accounts.
  • Fewer than one in four households have less than three times their net salary as a buffer. Experts recommend maintaining a minimum savings of 3 to 6 monthly wages.

More numbers (2): We also invest part of our capital. 8.3% of Belgian assets are in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

• Cryptocurrencies represent only 0.18% of total assets. Research shows that only 3.5 percent of our citizens invest in cryptocurrencies.

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