Economic context
Moody's has lowered its forecast for Belgian GDP growth to 0.6% in 2026, with higher energy prices linked to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East weighing on the outlook. Inflation rose to 4.6% in September and the ECB has already raised rates twice this year, pushing up financing costs for households and investors alike. Buying a home is becoming more expensive, while new supply remains limited. This keeps the rental market tight and supports investor interest in residential income.
Rental market
Apartment rents continued to rise in H1 2026, but at a more moderate pace. According to CIB, Federia and Korfine, the average monthly rent reached €1,366 in Brussels, €943 in Flanders and €843 in Wallonia, up 3%, 5% and 4% respectively. In Brussels, growth slowed and affordability remains a challenge: only around a quarter of homes were let for less than €1,000 per month, against more than half in 2021. Listed players report occupancy of around 98% to 99% in multi-family and student housing. Student housing achieved like-for-like rental growth close to 5%, against around 2% to 3% for multi-family. New supply recovered only partly, with permits for 22,472 new homes, 11% more than a year earlier but almost a third below H1 2021.
Investment market
Excluding the takeover of Cofinimmo by Aedifica, living investment reached €206 million in H1 2026 across 15 transactions with disclosed pricing, well above the €123 million recorded a year earlier. Multi-family accounted for almost two thirds of this volume, with Vicinity buying three assets in Brussels and Vilvoorde for ~€111 million, including Bel Residential from Nextensa. Including the Cofinimmo takeover, total investment reached €2.27 billion. As a condition set by the Belgian Competition Authority, Aedifica must sell around €300 million of Belgian healthcare assets over the coming years, which should bring further activity. Prime yields moved out, to between 4.35% and 4.50% for multi-family, 5.25% for student housing and between 5.25% and 5.50% for senior housing.
