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Today the twenty-seven member States that form the European Union are represented in Brussels, which is considered the European capital. Who walks through the city center will be struck by this : whole streets, nearly every second building is empty ! This strange phenomen is called "brusselization". As more European citizens come to live in the Belgium capital, house prices are reaching higher levels and everybody talks about speculation. From 2005 until 2006 the average rate price has grown 11 percent. So, in down town, there are hundreds of empty houses and many new buildings in construction. European institution workers are well paid and are exempt from taxes. For that reason, property owners are speculating prices in order to increase its value. This is changing the real estate business and the city. Previously, the capital was in the hands of society, but now buildings are in the owners' hands. Most of the investors are foreigners who come to Brussels to make profit from house speculation. Paul Brunard from the Best Houses International explains the situation. « In the last years, in the Schuman area, there were many new buildings being built. These are more expensive because they are new or refurbished so only the European institution workers or multinational workers can afford to live there ». The numerous empty down town properties are not for sale or for renting yet. Owners are awaiting profit from it by selling them after five years in a much higher price, according to the market specialist's predictions. Other reasons pointed out for the emptiness of the houses are the refurbishment of old building which are turned into various appartments, the divergence with law issues and the owners neglect of their properties. This is made consciously in order for the houses to become so decayed that the only possibility is to demolish them. Speculation also happens in Portugal where there are many new houses being built and old properties being neglected. Owners also want to sell their houses for a high price. So they invest in appartments, wait some years to sell and make good profit. In Portugal the renting business is not as big as in most of the European cities, since most of the citizens buy their own properties. This big issue is changing the basic life in the cities. Families are moving to the countryside. At night and weekends down towns are desolate, since companies are closed and workers live in the outskirts or in another country. This dramatic change is making the youngsters of Brussels change their lifestyle : they turn away from their hometown. Article paru sur le site de l'APEM www.apem-wspa.org
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Rédacteur : Filipa Nunes, Brussels, Belgique
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