In 36% of cases nationwide, parents helped pay towards a first home for their children. Of those, one in three paid up to 10%, and another one-third helped out with 10-20% of the cost. In Brussels 46% of couples receive help from parents, and one in 10 of those parents paid more than half of the cost.

House prices have been rising for years, the study said, and buyers still consider property a solid investment, particularly in times of economic decline. Nine out of 10 of those polled expected the value of their homes to increase over the next decade. In 1995, the average price of a house was double the annual salary; in 2008, according to a study published earlier this year by ING bank, the proportion had gone up to four times that.

Prices have evened out more recently: the reference price for a house rose in the first half of the year by 2% to €225,000, and an apartment by 1% to €222,500. However inflation in the same period was 3.5%, so those increases are swallowed up. The price of a villa rose by 3% to €370,000. According to Trends magazine, which published the price survey, the flat prices are an after-effect of steep increases in recent years.

One aspect of house-buying that is firmly on the decrease is the portion of the price paid under the table to avoid taxes. In the 1990s that occurred to varying degrees in 10% of all sales. In the last two years, the number has fallen to 4%. At the same time, the proportion of the price paid under the table has fallen from around 30% in the 1970s to under 10% now.