The Capital Of Belgium - And The EU - Is Perking Up For Property Buyers
The Mail on Sunday, 23rd September 2007Brussels is bouncing back. The picturesque Belgium capital, synonymous for many with faceless bureaucracy, has had a less than scintillating image over the past 30 years. Since the boom years of the sixties and seventies, when most of the Parliament buildings went up and the Eurocrats moved in, its reputation among investors languished.
Now, though, the city is dotted with regeneration projects and its property market has been rejuvenated, with much investment from British buyers.
The EU’s expansion in 2004 has meant another influx of Eurocrats; 1,000 new homes will have been created on 11 sites in the Leopold district, the so-called "European Quarter", alone by the end of next year.
Brussels’ dull image is unfair. It is a sophisticated city, bilingual in French and Dutch, and boasting exquisite architecture, notably in the 17th Century Grande Place, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has more than 100 museums and is a gastronomic centre.
Today, areas such as the Ixelles quarter are having a facelift, although the planners are keeping a tight grip on development, according to Peter McCarthy of the Thornsett Group.
"It has a great rental community," says McCarthy. "We have UK buyers looking for long-term investments in Brussels because it offers stability. Buyers can expect a rental yield of about five per cent."
Marc Boutefeu of local agency Immo References says; "People are starting to invest again, so prices have risen by ten to fifteen per cent over the past five years." He adds: "I think they will go up by another five per cent this year."
Thornsett Group is marketing three schemes in Brussels. Leopold Village in the Leopold district comprises 108 studios and one to four bedroom apartments spread over three blocks, a four star, 150-bedroom hotel and commercial space that includes a ground and first floor restaurant with huge terraces overlooking Place Jean Rey and the adjacent park.
"You are right next to the European Commission headquarters and prices are lower than you might expect," says Eoghan Quinn from Thornsett’s Brussels office. "They range from £95,000 for a studio to £217,000 for a three bedroom apartment. The nine penthouses start at around £475,000."
IT Consultant Lee Copson, is buying a fifth-floor, two bedroom flat for £198,320 at Boniface Square, Thornsett’s second development in Brussels. Tucked away in trendy, multicultural Ixelles, one of the liveliest spots in the city, Copson’s flat is one of 28 one to four-bed apartments opposite an old church on Place St Boniface, where prices range from £170,000 to £475,000.
"I am 100 yards from the Metro station and only five to ten minutes from Eurostar, handy for when I travel to London for meetings," says Copson, 41, who, originally from Lancashire, has been living and working in Brussels for four years.
Eurostar has just knocked 30 minutes off its normal journey time and now it takes one hour 43 minutes from Brussels to London. When Copson files home, it takes 75 minutes from Brussels South Charleroi airport to Manchester.