Realty 2024

Reconversion and renovation are terms that have become commonplace in the world of real estate in recent years. “If we all want to achieve the 2050 climate goals, something has to be done about our ageing real estate assets,” many real estate experts have been saying for some time now. From a historical point of view, renovation already adds value. “But even for industrial buildings that are not protected, a conscious choice is often made for redevelopment,” states Erwin Vrijens, Head of Real Estate at PMV, which has a wealth of experience in counselling and financing in the domain of sustainable area development and supporting real estate projects with historical or social importance.

That we are living in extraordinary times is something the professional real estate market is aware of like no other. Whether developers, building owners, investors, consultants or users, they are all facing particularly challenging times. Colliers, a global leader in property services and investment management, realizes this too. In this article, David Vermeesch, Managing Partner at Colliers Belgium, takes us through the opportunities and challenges that the sector is currently facing and how at Colliers they are dealing with them.

‘Bruxelles ma belle’ or is it rather ‘Brussels is a hellhole’? Opinions about Europe’s capital differ around the world. But there is no doubt that Brussels is different from so many other cities and has its own identity. According to debate moderator and Brussels expert Jeroen Roppe, this is due to the various peculiarities that the capital has incorporated over the decades.

The past two years have not been a walk in the park for the real estate sector in Belgium either. Now that the corona crisis and the explosion in energy prices are behind us, everyone is looking longingly to the reset of the real estate sector. And there is hope for improvement. 

In 2024, the construction and real estate sectors are confronting a blend of new challenges: rising interest rates, lower sales, and expensive materials, in addition to historical issues like digitization lags, environmental concerns, and a labor deficit exceeding two million. It demands urgent attention and solutions to relieve these burdens off the sector.
– by Idriss Goossens, Founder & CEO of PropTech Lab