How Many Square Metres Are 1 Are and 1 Hectare of Land?

How many square metres is 1 are is a question that frequently comes up when buying land, a plot or when reading Belgian property listings. 1 are (a) is exactly 100 m², while 1 hectare (ha) covers 10,000 m² - a significant difference that matters when calculating prices. These units come from the metric system and are mainly used for agricultural land, building plots and parcels. Getting the conversion wrong can lead to costly mistakes when investing or purchasing. This article explains how to convert them and what they mean for the Belgian property market.

How many square metres is 1 are?

One are is a unit of area equal to 100 square metres, equivalent to a rectangle of 10 m × 10 m.

To put that in perspective: a standard parking space is roughly 12-15 m², so one are fits about seven parking spaces. A typical Belgian terraced house garden of 8 ares works out at 800 m² - a useful mental anchor when reading listings.

Conversion:

• 1 a = 100 m²
• m² to a: divide by 100 (e.g. 500 m² = 5 a)
• a to m²: multiply by 100 (e.g. 12 a = 1,200 m²)

Common conversion table:

Are (a)	m²	Hectare (ha)
1	100	0.01
5	500	0.05
10	1,000	0.10
25	2,500	0.25
50	5,000	0.50
100	10,000	1.00

The smallest sub-unit is the centiare (ca), which equals exactly 1 m². Belgian cadastral documents routinely express plot sizes in the format ha/a/ca - for example, a plot listed as 0 ha 08 a 50 ca means 850 m².

How much is 1 hectare of land?

1 hectare = 100 ares = 10,000 m² (100 m × 100 m). This is confirmed by the international definition: the hectare is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides.

Conversion:

• 1 ha = 10,000 m²
• 1 ha = 100 ares
• m² to ha: divide by 10,000 (e.g. 50,000 m² = 5 ha)
• ha to m²: multiply by 10,000 (e.g. 3.5 ha = 35,000 m²)

Table:

Hectare (ha)	Ares (a)	m²
0.01	1	100
0.1	10	1,000
0.5	50	5,000
1	100	10,000
5	500	50,000
10	1,000	100,000

The hectare is the standard unit for agricultural land, nature reserves and large development sites. For reference, a standard football pitch is roughly 0.7 ha (7,000 m²), so one hectare is somewhat larger than a full-size football field.

One point worth noting for international buyers: one hectare equals approximately 2.47 acres. If you are used to the British or Irish property market where acres are still common, that ratio is a handy reference.

The hectare is the standard unit for agricultural land and large plots.

Why are these units used in real estate?

In Belgium, ares and hectares appear in:

• Cadastral records: plots are expressed in ha/a/ca in official documents from the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels land registries.
• Agricultural land: average price of €68,934/ha (2024 Flemish figures, ~€6.89/m²).
• Building plots: size expressed in ares in listings (e.g. "bouwgrond 8 a 20 ca").
• Property listings: plot size on platforms such as Immoweb, Zimmo and Realo is often shown in m² but derived from cadastral are/ha data.
• Notarial deeds: Belgian notarial purchase deeds (aktes) always state land surface in the ha/a/ca format, so understanding the units is important before signing.

Agricultural land prices in Flanders (2024 data):

Province / Region	Price/ha (€)	Price/are (€)	Price/m² (€)
Flanders average	68,934	689	6.89
West Flanders	~80,000	~800	~8.00
East Flanders	~72,000	~720	~7.20
Antwerp province	~65,000	~650	~6.50
Flemish Brabant	~70,000	~700	~7.00
Luxembourg province	~37,000	~370	~3.70

Flemish agricultural land prices have been rising by roughly 2-3% per year over the past decade, driven by limited supply, strong demand from both farmers and investors, and the scarcity of buildable land. Note that Walloon agricultural land tends to trade at lower prices per hectare than Flanders, reflecting differences in soil quality, land use policy and population density.

Practical examples for buyers

• Plot of 10 ares (1,000 m²): a typical large garden for a detached house in a Belgian suburb. At an average building-plot price of around €200-300/m² in many Flemish municipalities, that equates to a land value of roughly €200,000-€300,000 for the plot alone.
• Agricultural plot of 1 ha (10,000 m²): costs approximately €68,000-€70,000 in Flanders based on 2024 averages - a relatively accessible entry point for long-term land investment.
• Plot conversion quick examples:
  • 2.5 ha = 250 ares = 25,000 m²
  • 3 ha 45 a 60 ca = 34,560 m²
  • 850 m² = 8 ares 50 centiares = 0.085 ha
• Reading a cadastral extract: if a document states "0 ha 12 a 30 ca", that is 12 ares and 30 centiares = 1,230 m².

Tip: always cross-check the cadastral plan via the official Flemish geoportal (geopunt.be) or the Walloon equivalent (geoportail.wallonie.be) for the exact legally recorded surface area. The m² figure shown in online listings sometimes rounds the cadastral ha/a/ca figure.

Investment perspective

Buying land by the are or hectare pays off over the long term for several reasons.

Agricultural land as an investment: a farming lease (pachtovereenkomst) generates rental income of approximately €343/ha/year on average in Belgium. That is a modest gross yield of roughly 0.5% annually, but the real attraction is capital appreciation. Flemish agricultural land has roughly doubled in price over the past 15-20 years, and supply is structurally constrained because Belgium has among the highest population densities in Europe.

Building land: building plots are priced per m² rather than per are in most listings, but the underlying cadastral data is always in ha/a/ca. Rezoning potential - where agricultural land receives a building designation - can multiply land value dramatically, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more. However, rezoning in Flanders has become significantly more restrictive under the Beleidsplan Ruimte Vlaanderen (BRV), which aims to reach net zero land take by 2040. Buyers should not assume that agricultural land adjacent to existing residential areas will be rezoned.

Wallonia and Brussels: land ownership rules, lease conditions and price dynamics differ from Flanders. In Wallonia, the Code wallon de l'Agriculture governs farming leases, and provincial land prices vary considerably - from around €25,000/ha in parts of Luxembourg province to over €50,000/ha in Brabant wallon.

When selling, expressing the surface area clearly in both ares/ha and m² in the listing and the notarial deed prevents misunderstandings and potential disputes. Belgian courts have occasionally had to rule on cases where a buyer and seller disagreed on the exact plot size because one party used rounded m² figures from a listing rather than the precise cadastral measurement.

Frequently asked questions

Is 10,000 square metres exactly 1 hectare?

Yes. By definition, 1 hectare = 10,000 m². This is fixed and exact - there is no rounding involved. The hectare is defined as the area of a square with sides of exactly 100 metres (100 m × 100 m = 10,000 m²).

What is 1 are in square metres?

1 are equals exactly 100 m². The are is defined as 1/100 of a hectare, so 1 a = 100 m² and 100 a = 1 ha = 10,000 m².

What is a centiare (ca)?

A centiare is 1/100 of an are, which equals exactly 1 m². Belgian cadastral documents use the format ha/a/ca to express plot sizes. For example, 0 ha 05 a 75 ca = 575 m².

How do I convert ares to m²?

Multiply the number of ares by 100. For example, 7 ares = 700 m². To go the other way, divide the number of m² by 100 to get ares: 1,450 m² = 14.5 ares.

How do I convert hectares to m²?

Multiply the number of hectares by 10,000. For example, 2.3 ha = 23,000 m². To convert m² to hectares, divide by 10,000: 35,000 m² = 3.5 ha.

How many ares are in 1 hectare?

Exactly 100 ares. This is consistent with the metric prefix system: 1 hectare = 100 ares = 10,000 centiares = 10,000 m².

How many acres is 1 hectare?

1 hectare is approximately 2.471 acres. Conversely, 1 acre is approximately 0.405 hectares (4,047 m²). This conversion is relevant for British or Irish buyers comparing Belgian land prices with those in the UK or Ireland.

What does a plot of 8 ares look like in practice?

8 ares = 800 m². Picture a rectangle of roughly 20 m × 40 m. In Belgian real estate, this is a generous garden for a semi-detached or detached house. Many standard Belgian building plots range from 4 ares (400 m²) in denser areas to 12-15 ares (1,200-1,500 m²) in rural locations.

What is the average price per are of agricultural land in Flanders?

Based on 2024 data from the Flemish land price statistics, the Flemish average is approximately €689 per are (€68,934 per hectare, or roughly €6.89/m²). West Flanders is the most expensive province at around €800 per are, while Luxembourg province in Wallonia is significantly lower at around €370 per are.

Why do Belgian property listings sometimes show different surface areas for the same plot?

This often happens because one figure comes from the official cadastral record (expressed in ha/a/ca and then converted to m²) while another comes from a physical land survey or a rounded estimate. The legally binding figure is always the one in the notarial deed, which refers back to the cadastral plan. If you are buying land, always request the official cadastral extract (kadastraal uittreksel / extrait cadastral) and compare it with any figure quoted in the listing.