On 17 January 2019, more than 300 professionals from the Belgian and European real estate and urban development sectors attended the Investors Forum, the leading investors real estate seminar in Belgium (organised by ULI and JLL). During this afternoon conference, major Belgian and international actors (including APG Asset Management, Primonial Group, AXA Investment Managers Italy, PATRIZIA, Aedifica, Cofinmmo, Eaglestone, Immobel, PwC, Tribeca Capital Partners) were informed about, and debated on, tendencies and factors positively influencing the attractiveness of European cities towards investors.

The ULI Belgium Chair, Xavier Denis, said: “Overall, real estate leaders are more cautious with a focus on the sustainability of income return and are more operational in their activities. This is a cyclical move towards pushing the assets further but also a structural one due to the impact of tenant demands, changes in society and the technological evolutions. As the development pipelines and the use of leverage, although increasing, seem reasonable, the elephant in the room is obsolescence. What is the future of most of the existing stock and fundamentally what is its value? Leaders are out of their comfort zone and entering uncharted territory.

He added: “Over the next months, I believe that real estate will be far more impacted by political, technological and social issues than ever before. This will require market players to implement agile strategies and a multi-disciplinary approach to their business.”