Brussels has seen a rebound in lettings activity during the first quarter of 2010, with lettings up 152% compared to the same period last year and up 8% compared to the five-year average, according to property adviser Savills.
Brussels has seen a rebound in lettings activity during the first quarter of 2010, with lettings up 152% compared to the same period last year and up 8% compared to the five-year average, according to property adviser Savills.
The average size of each letting transaction has grown to 1,658 m2 from 911 m2 in the first quarter of 2009.
In terms of lettings activity, Savills' research shows the CBD has now surpassed the outer CBD representing 67% of the lettings market in the first quarter. This is up 27% on Q109 and 11% on the five-year average. Within the CBD, the Midi area accounted for 20% lettings and the North area 30%.
The North saw the largest transaction in the city to BNP Paribas Fortis at 35,793 m2 marking the return of corporates whilst KPM Group and L'Oreal also signed significant contracts in Brussels. Infrabel, Belgium's railway infrastructure operator, signed almost 25,000 m2 in total in the South District which also boosted the pre-letting market and in turn reduced the burgeoning speculative pipeline down to 56% for 2010.
