Housing costs Belgian border region higher because of Dutch migration

TILBURG - In the last ten years, over 33,000 more people moved from the Netherlands to Belgium than the other way round. Much of the migration resulted from the considerably lower cost of housing in Belgium, including rental units. The Dutch ‘invasion’ of the border region - in some communities as high as 48 percent - however has pushed home prices up since 1995, doubling them in some places. Many Brabant and Limburg families are attracted to Belgium, because homes and building lots are lower priced and larger than those in the Netherlands, while in Belgium there also are fewer rules and regulations for do-it-yourself construction. Since 2001, Dutch nationals – working in the Netherlands - also may deduct existing mortgage costs for their Belgian homes from their Dutch tax return.