Commercial real estate investment in Belgium reached EUR 480 mln in the second quarter of 2011, bringing the total for the first half of the year to EUR 900 mln. This is 40% more than the EUR 650 mln volume in the same period last year.

Though still below pre-crisis levels, this volume indicates a recovery of the investment market and reinforces the forecast of a 30% increase in 2011 compared to 2010. Belgium saw increased interest from national as well as international investors resulting in a more liquid market in 2011. The office sector reached an investment volume of EUR 593 mln (total Belgium) over H1, 66% of the total Belgian volume and up 85% compared to the same period last year.

Industrial investment volume, 13% of the total, also witnessed a marked improvement since it already reached in H1 the total volume of 2010. In Brussels, office investment volume reached EUR 501 mln during H1 through two quite even quarters and represented 56% of the total Belgian investment volume. The largest transaction of Q2 was the sale of the 'Espace Orban' in the Leopold district that transacted between two German institutional investors.

Belgian investors were the most active - representing 69% of the total investment volume during H1, followed by Germans (23%) and French (6.7%). The total volume of transactions realised by German investors during this first half already exceeds by 20% the total of 2010 through some large transactions such as the reported acquisition of the Montoyer-Science building in the Leopold district by Hesse Newman Capital (a closed-ended fund) for EUR 62 mln from Cofinimmo.

Responsible for the largest transactions in Q2, the institutional investors represented 27% of the Belgian investment volume during H1, closely followed by the REITs (24%), mainly Belgian. Unlisted investors, including fund managers and open and closed-ended funds, accounted for 17% and corporates for 10%. After a very active year in 2010, private investors saw their part in the total decreased from 24% for 2010 to 10% in H1 2011.