Office rental in Brussels drops to record low: ‘CO2-neutral building costs more’

According to office real estate company JLL, barely 49,324 square meters of office space was rented in Brussels between January and March. That is 31 percent less than in the first quarter of 2023 and 55 percent less than the average of the past five years.

JLL speaks of “one of the weakest first quarters ever”. That writes The time and also appears from the recent market report on Brussels from JLL.

“Everyone is in trouble: everything is slowing down due to the bad economy. Service companies in particular saw their costs skyrocket,” explains Marc-Antoine Buysschaert, CEO of the real estate agent Cushman & Wakefield in Belgium. The time.

According to experts, this has consequences for the entire real estate chain: there is a growing demand for sustainable offices due to increasingly strict environmental requirements, but many companies are still holding on to older, cheaper buildings. Because a CO2-neutral building “comes at an additional cost”.

Higher construction costs

In addition, construction costs have also risen, which is why companies prefer to extend their lease contracts again. There was also an unexpected increase in interest rates. As a result, investors were more cautious and focused less on new investments.

The JLL report emphasizes that although structural vacancy is increasing, the vacancy rate of buildings in energy class A is very low, around 1 percent. The general vacancy rate in Brussels rose to 7.5 percent compared to 7.1 percent three months earlier.

However, a number of sustainable buildings have been completed this year, including the ZIN building of Befimmo, the Flemish government, with an area of ​​75,000 square meters. Or the Hôtel des Douanes, a renovation project by Nextensa on the Tour & Taxis site, which has not yet found a tenant.

Shifts

Although there are still some major shifts planned later this year. European Commission officials will move to renovated offices in the Montoyer 34 and Montgomery Parc buildings.

Energy company Engie may also move its headquarters to Oxy, the former Mint Center in downtown that is currently being renovated. If that happens, the European Commission can rent the empty space in Engie’s current headquarters, the Pole Star in the Noordwijk.