M A R K E T B E AT
BELGIUM Industrial Q4 2021 YoY Chg
12-Mo. Forecast
1,075 (L) 1,400 (SI) Take-up (2021) (000s sq m)
Belgian economy performed well in 21. Stability awaited in the medium term. In the last quarter of 2021, economic growth increased to 5.8% which means that for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pre-crisis level of economic activity was reached and even slightly exceeded. Growth levels should stabilise to 2.2% in 2022 and 2.6% in 2023. The unemployment rate peaked at 6.4% at the end of 2021 and should decrease slowly around 5.5% in 2022 and 5.2% in 2023. It is expected that a lot of temporarily unemployed people will resume work in the early of 2022 or will be able to find new jobs.
60 (L) 63 (SI) Prime rent, (EUR/sq m/year)
Inflation on the rise in 2022. Important issues are also related to core inflation which stands at 2.4% in 2021 and is projected at 4.2% in 2022. This is due to the fact companies are confronted with rising commodity prices which puts pressure on the price paid by the end consumer. Combined with the fact that consumer spending is set to increase after a record year of saving, inflation is set to rise.
4.00 (L) 5.80 (SI) Prime yield (%, 3/6/9 lease) L: Logistics SI: Semi-industrial
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Q4 2021 YoY Chg
5.85%
12-Mo. Forecast
After having increased sharply from May to September 2021 on the back of a successful vaccine rollout in Belgium, along with the relaxing of constraining measures surrounding COVID-19, consumer confidence index is again on the downside since October. The Belgian population is more cautious namely due to the different variants of the COVID outbreak and growing energy prices.
2021 GDP Growth
6.36%
GDP GROWTH AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
EXPECTED INFLATION UP UNTIL 2025
2021 Unemployment Rate 10%
4.5%
8%
4.0%
6%
2.44%
4%
Consumer Price Index
2%
Sources: Moody’s Analytics, BNB, Eurostat, January2022 Please note the economic data can vary significantly from one source to the other. Therefore, the figures provided should merely be used as an indication or trend.
3.5% 3.0% 2.5%
0% -2%
2.0%
-4%
1.5%
-6%
1.0%
-8% 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
0.5% 0.0%
GDP Growth
Unemployment Rate
Sources: Moody’s Analytics, BNB, Eurostat, January2022
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Sources: Moody’s Analytics, BNB, Eurostat, January2022