Looking for 24 000 new homes per year. Does supply follow the yearly increase in demand for housing?

The Belgian housing prices have increased by one third since 2005. Structural factors can partly explain this price explosion. The difference between the yearly increase in the demand for houses and the yearly increase in the supply of new houses is central to this analysis. We conclude that there’s a shortage of 20 to 24 000 new houses per year for total housing supply to evolve at the same pace as total housing demand. This relative undersupply results in upward price pressure and is a consequence of a considerable increase in external migration since 2004 and the stabilisation or even shrinkage of the new estate activity during that same period. Moreover, the high real estate prices do not have a positive impact on the supply of extra houses through renovation or reconversion activities.