Stand at the kitchen window on a Saturday morning and watch two herons circle the garden pond while coffee brews on the granite countertop. The automatic gate is closed, the mature trees are doing their job blocking out the world, and the only sound is birdsong filtering through the pines at the back of the plot. This is Essensteenweg 53 — a 360-square-meter villa on 4,255 square meters of land in Brasschaat, one of the most coveted green addresses in the entire Belgian province of Antwerp.
Brasschaat sits roughly twelve kilometers north of Antwerp's cathedral spires and diamond quarter, close enough to catch a weeknight concert at the deSingel arts campus or a Sunday morning stroll through the Vrijdagmarkt antique market, yet far enough that the streets here are lined with century-old oaks rather than tram cables. The municipality has a reputation — fiercely protected by the people who live here — for wide forested avenues, exceptional international schools like the Antwerp International School on Dref, and the kind of quiet that money genuinely can't buy in the city itself. Families relocating from London, Amsterdam, or Paris who want a proper garden and room to breathe without sacrificing urban access tend to discover Brasschaat and stay for decades.
The villa itself sits behind an automatic gate with a videophone system, and the driveway alone tells you something about the scale of the property — there's room for multiple cars before you even reach the double integrated garage with its separate automatic doors. Inside, the entrance hall opens up generously, with a guest toilet tucked away and the main living space spreading out in front of you across three distinct zones. The formal sitting room has an open fireplace that earns its keep from October through March. Move through to the central dining area, then into the informal lounge that flows directly into the open-plan kitchen — renovated in 2019 with a granite worktop, American-style refrigerator, and a layout that actually works whether you're cooking a weekday dinner for four or hosting twelve on a long summer evening.
The ground floor is where this villa really distinguishes itself. The master suite sits entirely on this level — a large bedroom, two separate dressing rooms, and a bathroom finished in Stucco Veneziano with a freestanding bathtub, walk-in shower, double vanity, and a separate toilet. Single-floor living is genuinely possible here, which matters both for multi-generational households and for buyers thinking about long-term flexibility. Off the kitchen, a utility room with custom cabinetry connects directly to the driveway on one side and the garage on the other, and a private staircase leads up to a self-contained office or guest suite with its own rain shower bathroom and attic storage. This space works equally well as a home office, a live-in au pair suite, or accommodation for visiting family who need their own front door.
Upstairs, four more bedrooms fan out from the landing. The second bedroom has built-in wardrobes and an ensuite with a wellness shower. Two further bedrooms share a living area between them — ideal as a kids' playroom or a reading room — and a third central bathroom with both shower and bathtub serves the floor. A fourth bathroom with a walk-in rain shower and silver enclosure rounds out the upper level. Five bathrooms across the property means nobody is ever waiting.
Outside, the garden wraps around the villa on all sides. Two ponds — one fitted with UV lamps and a full filtration system — catch the afternoon light beautifully, and the forested strip along the rear boundary gives the whole plot a depth that photographs struggle to capture. A large terrace, partially covered, handles outdoor dining from April through October without any rearrangement. The automated irrigation system with rain sensors and multiple zones keeps everything green through the warmest Flemish summers without any effort on your part, and a substantial wooden shed keeps garden equipment out of sight. The whole plot is fully fenced.
Practically speaking, the villa is in excellent condition and has been maintained with genuine care. The gas central heating system was completely renewed in 2020, runs across three separate circuits, and combines underfloor heating on the ground floor with radiators upstairs. The property holds an energy performance certificate rated B — meaningful in Belgium's increasingly stringent regulatory landscape and directly relevant to running costs. The structure sits over a full crawl space, adding insulation and practical storage capacity.
For international buyers, Brasschaat's property market has shown consistent resilience. The combination of proximity to Antwerp's port economy, the presence of multinational headquarters in the broader Antwerp region, and the area's limited housing supply at this scale keeps demand for large private villas steady. Properties of this footprint and plot size on Essensteenweg change hands rarely; when they do, they attract buyers from across the EU and beyond. Belgium has no capital gains tax on primary and secondary residential property held for normal use, and the country's relatively straightforward property purchase process — conducted through a notary — is accessible to non-residents. EU citizens face no restrictions, and non-EU buyers will want to confirm their specific position with a local notaire, though the process is well-established and internationally navigated routinely.
As a vacation home or second residence, the property lends itself to extended stays rather than quick weekends. Antwerp's hospitality scene alone — the restaurants along Reyndersstraat in the Latin Quarter, the rooftop at Hotel O' in the city center, the weekend food market along the Zurenborg neighbourhood — gives you enough to explore across a fortnight without repeating yourself. Cycling is the local religion: the Groenendaallaan trail from Brasschaat through the Mastenbos forest runs for kilometers without touching a main road, and the Schelde riverside path down to Antwerp is entirely doable on a good bike. In winter, Antwerp's Christmas market on the Grote Markt is among the best in Belgium, and the drive to Bruges for a long weekend takes under an hour on the E34.
Antwerp International Airport handles regular European routes and sits roughly twenty minutes by car. Brussels Airport, with its intercontinental connections, is fifty minutes down the E19. For buyers arriving from the UK, the Eurostar to Brussels followed by a direct train to Antwerp Centraal station is a four-hour door-to-door journey from central London.
Key features at a glance:
- 360m² living area on a 4,255m² private, fully fenced plot
- 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms across ground and first floors
- Ground-floor master suite with Stucco Veneziano bathroom, freestanding bath, and dual dressing rooms
- Self-contained office/guest suite with private bathroom and separate attic storage
- Kitchen renovated in 2019 with granite countertop and full appliance suite
- Gas central heating completely renewed in 2020; underfloor heating on ground floor
- Energy performance certificate rated B
- Double integrated garage with separate automatic doors
- Two garden ponds, one with UV filtration; automated multi-zone irrigation system
- Large partly covered terrace for outdoor dining and entertaining
- Forested rear boundary providing exceptional natural privacy
- Automatic entrance gate with videophone security system
- 12km from Antwerp city center; 20 minutes to Antwerp International Airport
- Flexible layout supports home office, multi-generational living, or staff accommodation
- Strong long-term demand in one of Antwerp's most established residential municipalities
A property like this — the combination of raw space, genuine privacy, quality finishes, and effortless access to one of Europe's most underrated cities — doesn't come to market often in Brasschaat. If you're considering a second home in Belgium or looking to make this your primary European base, a visit to Essensteenweg 53 will answer most of your questions faster than any description can. Reach out to the Homestra team today to arrange a private viewing and get tailored guidance on the purchase process for international buyers.
