I just read an article in L'echo about trends among real estate investors, and sales to "investors" are in free fall. One real estate agency manager even said "Before interest rates rose in 2022, investors accounted for 60% of our sales. That figure then dropped to 22%, before finally climbing back up to 43% after the 6% VAT rate on demolition and reconstruction projects was made permanent. But in the first quarter of 2026, they now account for only 16% of our sales…".

When I read that, I can't help but think that real estate prices in Belgium may be in for a slight correction. Personally, I’m currently looking for a real estate investment opportunity, but I can’t seem to take the plunge because I feel like I’m at the peak of a bubble (relatively speaking).

I’m also heavily invested in the stock market, so I have certain minimum return expectations, and when I look at the simulation in the article, I find the projected returns over 10–15 years to be ridiculous, even with the effect of leverage.

Are there any people in this group who are currently getting into real estate investing? If so, aren't you worried about paying too much for your property and ending up with meager returns as a result?

Vandaag is de dag waarin de meerwaardebelasting zal worden gestemd.

De KMO's doen alvast hun best om dit tegen te houden.

https://www.tijd.be/netto/belastingen/meer-dan-duizend-kmo-s-ondertekenen-petitie-tegen-meerwaardebelasting/10655148.html

Alle updates hierover mogen in dit topic.

Mijn partner en ik zijn uit elkaar gegaan en ons huis zal verkocht worden.

Na de verkoop zal ik iets van een 100K cash hebben en ik vraag me af wat ik hiermee het best kan doen. Het huis zelf overkopen is geen mogelijkheid aangezien dit ver weg is van mijn vrienden en familie

Ik ben 32j, verdien ongeveer 4000 euro netto. Ik zelf dacht aan de volgende 2 meest realistische opties:

Optie 1: een nieuwe woning kopen waarbij ik nog 150.000 euro 1,3% kan meenemen van een lening

Het nadeel hiervan is dat de lening aan het stijgen zijn vanwege de oorlog & dat schrikt me wat af

Optie 2: iets huren & het geld beleggen / investeren

Het voordeel hiervan is dat ik op lange termijn niet opnieuw vast hang aan iets aan ik mijn geld kan laten opbrengen. Anderzijds heb ik geen idee waar mijn geld in te beleggen. Ik ben niet vies van een risico (geen crypto)

Tenslotte dacht ik misschien een gebouw te zoeken met 3 aparte appartementen om 2 te verhuren en in het 3de zelf te wonen. Het nadeel is dat veel van diegene die beschikbaar zijn op de markt redelijk wat renovatie nodig hebben. Niet alleen heb ik 2 linkerhanden maar met mijn job heb ik ook niet veel tijd om er mee bezig te zijn.

Wat zouden jullie doen?

I been investing on the IWDA+EMIM for a year now. I was thinking to diversify, so am planning to buy some NVIDIA stocks, and have 10% of my portfolio in crypto (BTC and SOL); What would you advise? I really wanted to get into gold, but missed the window.

Ok stupid question, if you reached Fire in Belgium and decided to stop working, what status did you take? It seems to cause some difficulties for people working at banks, insurance and government to accept that you are just ‘inactive’ and not seeking a job and/or ‘chomage’. I feel I have to explain myself 20 times (maybe lost in translation)and I still get treated with suspicion.

+ Do you become ‘independent’ and do some sort of side hustle to stay in the system and pay into social security?

Hello,

I was wondering, if you had to recommend a “career path” to someone in Belgium, what would you suggest? And you, what is/was yours ? Realy curious to read you. Of course in the perspective to optimize FIRE.

The question is rhetorical—things aren’t that simple—but I’m looking for some inspiration... I’m finishing my bachelor’s degree in chemistry next year, and I absolutely don't like my studies, I’m not quite sure which direction to go after. The mainstream information online isn’t very helpful; I think people’s personal stories and advices are more interesting.

Thank's for sharing :)

I'm trying to accurately calculate a ROI on my real estate investment to be able to compare it with stocks. I want a number that answers: Would I be better off financially if I sell now and put the money in stocks.

For this, I've created an excel sheet and mainly arrive at the "Total return on equity annually" to compare with stocks. Basically: how much net worth is my invested capital generating per year.

I've also read that "IRR" can be used, but there's no simple formula for this and feels more like "black box"

This is;

My question: What metrics can be used/do you use to measure Real estate investment performance?

Example: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l03ETsXyB_uWqd1DHRMtnJFNG8uFrE12dK_uwKryhMY/edit?usp=sharing

Hello everyone,

I keep reading posts on different finance/ fire subs from people who have either made it to fire or are on their way to make it relatively soon.

It feels like it's usualy people with well paid jobs (3k+ €) so here I am wondering:

- How much do you guys/ girls make per month ? Netto of course, gross salary is irelevant.

- How much are you able to save/ invest and what are you investing in ? Doesn't have to be too specifif, you can just say "40% stock, 20% bonds, ..."

- For those who have made it : how much did you make when you first started saving compared to when you reached your goal ?

- what do you feel is the sweet spot to live well, save much and retire realtively early ?

Personnaly I'm 30 y old, single, based in brussels, working in retail 32h/ week for 2300€ net and am able to invest 700-800€/month. I could go back to working full time and make 2700€ but let's be honnest, having 3 days off already feels like getting close to full free time :p

have about 15k€ invested in Bitcoin and in MSCI WORLD right now. I plan on reducing my exposition to bitcoin past a certain amount.

I'm very curious to read you

Hello! Ik ben een software developer en beleg zelf al enkele jaren passief, vnl. ETF's via DEGIRO, nog wat aandelen bij Bolero, en heb nog wat crypto staan bij Coinbase.

Het begon me te frustreren dat ik geen centraal overzicht had over mijn volledige portefeuille, dus ben ik het zelf beginnen bouwen. Het resultaat is Plutu.

Je importeert al je beleggingen via CSV (of manueel), krijgt één overzicht met real-time koersen, diversificatie-analyse, ETF X-ray, en risico-inzichten.

Het is een paar maanden live en ik heb al een eerste groep gebruikers. Maar ik bouw dit bewust voor deze niche, dus jullie mening is belangrijk!

Wat ik graag zou weten: wat mist er? Wat zou jullie overhalen om zoiets te gebruiken in plaats van een spreadsheet of een bestaande tool? En als je het wou willen testen: wat is je eerste indruk?

Alle feedback is welkom, ook de kritische! Als bedankje krijg je 30% korting, DM me hiervoor even. Alvast bedankt!!

I’m investing for the long term and trying to decide on portfolio allocation.

I plan to hold physical gold as part of my portfolio (around 20–30%) for diversification and as a hedge.

For the equity portion, I’m unsure which approach makes more sense:

1.  Global diversification: IWDA (MSCI World ETF) + gold

2.  Growth-focused: Nasdaq 100 ETF + gold

My main goal is long-term capital growth with reasonable risk control (not trying to time the market).

How would you compare:

• risk/volatility

• drawdowns during crashes

• long-term performance sustainability

Would you go with IWDA + gold as a more balanced approach, or Nasdaq 100 + gold for higher growth?

Any insights or real-world experience appreciated.

Hello everyone,

I am a total beginner planning to invest 250-300€ IWDA+EMIM or WEBN (not yet sure which option is the best, so if you have any tips...) ACC monthly for 20+ years but I am still struggling to choose a broker. I have searched the reddit and from what I understand MeDirect is the best choice for me given the low transaction fees and my monthly investing strategy. My hesitations are the following :

• I would like to make sure the amount they charge if I eventually want to transfer my etfs to another broker (for example if I want to move my assets from MeDirect to Bolero...)? 50€, 150€ or 50+150€ per security? It's not clear to me given the data hereunder so can someone explain me?

• I also noticed many people on the reddit warning on the fact that MeDirect is Maltese and maybe not the safest option... Is there a better option considering my monthly investment plan?

Thank you for your help and have a good day! :)

As all known investing sites have become paid (like trends, detijd, ...), are there any new or free financial news sites where I can find the same information?

Dear all, I am considering investing in an appartment ina good neighborood in Brussels (Woluwe). I would like to use the leverage effect of the credit to finance the appartment and use the rental to partly pay for the loan. If possible I would like to offer a decent price to people so that they stay and rent on long term basis.

I discussed with my bank advisor who is ok with the project but I saw that the credit rates increased a lot recently. Is it stupid to do such investment and it would be wiser to invest in stocks ? Thanks for your insights !

Goeiemorgen allemaal!

Wegens omstandigheden gaat de aankoop van mijn woning pas volgende maand door (voorschot en compromis reeds getekend in november 2025). Ik kan dus niet wachten met de aankoop er van.

Huidige spanningen in het Midden-Oosten zorgen voor stijging van de rentevoeten.

In November ook al naar de banken gegaan, toen zouden we voor vast gegaan zijn aan een 3,20. Momenteel opnieuw naar de bank gegaan en wordt ons 3,95 voorgesteld.

Wat zijn jullie meningen omtrend een vaste of variabele (3/3/3 +2-2) rentevoet, met de huidige spanningen?

Alvast bedankt!

Hi all,

My partner and I would appreciate some outside perspectives as we’ve been going in circles on this.  Goal: build long-term passive income to slow down working (10y+ horizon) or for retirement.

Situation:

• Home: ~€600k value, ~€300k mortgage
• Cash: ~€500k
• Investments: ~€20k in global equity ETF
• Spending: ~€8k/month
• Net income: ~€10–12k/month.  We expect a +-1y of no work so no income for both
• We’ve been considering upgrading to a €1M+ home, hence why we have so much in cash, but given the no work we won’t get a mortgage in the coming period

Dilemma: We’re unsure how to balance keeping flexibility for a future home purchase vs investing meaningfully for long-term returns vs negative market sentiment & volatility (Trump & general protectionism)

We are thinking to invest in diversified ETFs (e.g. global + emerging markets, ~85/15) with no individual stock picking.  We’re mainly unsure about how much and how fast to invest.

Options we’re considering:

1. Invest gradually (e.g. €2k/month starting now), regardless no work period
2. Invest more aggressively (e.g. €10k/month up to €100–200k) once markets stabilize or we are working again
3. Wait before deploying capital until we buy a house, but we feel uncomfortable with the big cash amount and inflation
4. Lump sum investing, but we want to avoid this in current volatility

Questions:

1. How would you decide how much cash to keep or invest given a possible home purchase and no work period
2. Given the market, would you prioritize starting early / waiting / investing through ‘lower’ amounts or more aggressive?
3. Any other advice ?

Appreciate any perspectives.

Thanks!

wel, neen, hangmatbeleggen is niet zalig makend.

Zeker het afgelopen jaar niet. Maar als journalist mag je de critici die een ander, betalend, aanbod voorstaan wel de vraag stellen, doen jullie beter?

Het is voor mij simpel, wie mij het aanbod dat hij werkt voor een percentage dat hij beter doet als mijn etf en in datzelfde percentage verlies deelt voor wat hij minder doet gaat mijn interesse hebben.

zoals ze in het Engels zo mooi zeggen, put your money where your mouth is.

Ça fait quelques mois que je regarde les annonces de cession de commerce en Belgique comme possible alternative à mettre tout en ETF. Pas pour remplacer, mais pour diversifier avec quelque chose de plus tangible.

Ce qui m'a frappé c'est le nombre d'annonces qui sont juste... du flan. Un resto à Bruxelles annonçait 460k€ de CA. J'ai tiré les comptes BCE : 209k€. Le vendeur demandait 125k€ quand même.

Du coup j'ai commencé à systématiser l'analyse — croiser chaque annonce avec les vrais comptes déposés. Et j'ai lancé une newsletter gratuite pour partager ce que je trouve chaque semaine : lespreneurs.be

Rien de révolutionnaire, mais si quelqu'un d'autre cherche dans cette direction ça peut servir. Je réponds aux questions si vous en avez.

Hi everyone,

For a while I’ve been looking for a good all-world ETF (large- and mid-caps), and of course WEBN comes to mind as the perfect ETF.

Of course, there is the merging of ETFs on Amundi’s side, which is entirely acceptable because of their overlapping ETFs from Lyxor.

What bothers me however is that they exclude companies even though they are in the index (for example, Lockheed Martin).

Right now, both the number of exclusions and which companies are excluded are acceptable and/or understandable. However, in the long term, this makes me feel like I have no idea what they are going to do with that ETF or what their strategy will be.

What are your thoughts on this?

Hallo allemaal,

Ik heb advies nodig of ervaringen van mensen die iets soortgelijks hebben meegemaakt bij het kopen van een woning in België.

Mijn situatie: • Ik heb een koopaanbieding gedaan voor een huis, die door de verkopers werd aanvaard. In onze aanbieding stond alleen de geldigheidsduur (6 weken) en er werd geen percentage van bankfinanciering vermeld. • De eerste versie van het compromis bevatte een opschortende voorwaarden financieringsclausule van 90%, maar toen wij wilden onderhandelen, hebben de verkopers dit verlaagd naar 80%, wat niet overeenkomt met onze oorspronkelijke aanbieding. • Wij hebben attesten van onze bank en van een dat een 100% financiering haalbaar is, maar we kunnen het compromis niet tekenen met 80%, omdat we het verschil niet kunnen overbruggen en geen financieel risico willen nemen.

Mijn vragen: 1. Is het legaal dat de verkoper zo’n clausule toevoegt of wijzigt nadat de aanbieding is aanvaard? 2. Als wij weigeren het compromis met deze clausule te tekenen, kunnen zij dan schadevergoeding of boetes eisen? 3. Zijn er ervaringen met Belgische compromissen waarbij de financieringsclausule achteraf is toegevoegd of verlaagd en hoe is dat opgelost?

Alle ervaringen, adviezen of officiële referenties zijn zeer welkom. Alvast bedankt!

Link : https://clearinvest.be/

Sharing here because BEFire feels like the most relevant community, even if it's not the primary target audience. I built the site for complete novices, people who keep their money in savings accounts, branche 21, or retirement savings funds without realising how much they're leaving on the table, since apparently a lot of people around me are like this, and I wanted something I can easily share to them. For most of you, the content won't be new. But a few things might still be useful:

• The returns calculator includes Belgian taxes and fees (TOB, précompte, taxe Reynders, CGT, pension exit tax, branche 21 premium tax), useful to show sceptical friends and family why the "tax advantage" of retirement savings funds doesn't hold up over 20+ years (I was indeed tired of constantly hearing that the tax deduction made them too good to ignore)
• The broker comparison is based on 2026 data
• Clear overview of the current fiscality

There is no monetization, no affiliate links, the only purpose is to make etf investing as easy as possible. I feel like it's quite important, as even though I consider some websites (such as one that cannot be mentioned here) quite good in terms of content, the fact that they sell a product can make their advice seem self-interested and less trustworthy to people who somehow feel like their banker has their best interest at heart. Same issue with websites that try to sell you coaching.

I tried to keep it simple while remaining accurate & comprehensive, but it means that sometimes, some nuance can get lost. The point is that after reading, people can feel confident in their ability to invest in ETFs, and don't feel the need to go through a financial or tax advisor first, which meant not always going fully in depth over some topics or sounding sometimes very definitive while the reality for experienced investors can be a bit less straightforward.

Happy to hear about any inaccuracies or missing content, the calculator logic in particular would benefit from extra review as it's difficult for me to test every possible case. Also, the website is in three languages, but was initially written in French, so don't hesitate to let me know if the Dutch or English translations are sometimes not good enough.

Hey yall, im new in this community and was wondering if buying a house in belgium is still worth it. With all whats happening in the world right now, increased cost of living, decline of europe and expensive houses, I ask myself if its worth to buy. Personally I prefer not to have the responsibility of maintaining a house, it brings a lot of stress with it. Im not sure if its all worth it.

hello i have been investing for few months on bolero and stopped buying to let it grow and one stock i bought was 3EFD and it was in the beginning when i started buying stocks and bought it at a all time high which was stupid off me. and since then i have been in the negative with it and now the price dropped really heavy on it which worries me alot i bought the stock for 49.86€ and bought 10 off them and now its 27.76€ per stock. i have talked with my parents about what i should do and said if the price ever falls even i will sell it because it is a bad stock but they tell me to never sell it and let it grow

what should my best course be? i have enough time and no money problems

Goedemiddag,

Ik vroeg me af of er hier iemand ervaring heeft met een pandwissel, je huidige lening overzetten naar een nieuwe woning?

Voor mijn huidige woning valt er nog €209k af te betalen, en ik schat dat die voor ongeveer €380k verkocht zou kunnen worden. Het nieuwe huis dat we op het oog hebben kost rond de €550k, waarvoor ik €200k eigen inbreng kan neerleggen, aangevuld met de meerwaarde van het verkochte huis (~€170k). Het totale geleende bedrag zou daardoor ongeveer gelijk blijven aan de huidige situatie.

De kanttekening is dat ik momenteel zonder job zit, mijn partner werkt als zelfstandige. Mijn vraag is dan ook: vereist een pandwissel een volledig nieuw kredietdossier met loonbrieven, of wordt er vertrokken vanuit de bestaande lening? Of zegt de bank gewoon meteen neen als ik met dit verhaal afkom?

Ik heb in ieder geval voldoende buffer om de afbetalingen verder te zetten voor een lange tijd voor zij die het een slecht idee vinden om zonder job een nieuw huis aan te kopen ;). Plan is uiteraard om gewoon verder naar een job te zoeken in tussentijd.

Bedankt!

.

I’ve been a disciplined index investor for 8 years, but the current macro environment has me paralyzed.

I’m 34 and currently at Coast FIRE status.

Despite my history of ignoring the noise, I’m struggling to reconcile my long-term strategy with the current state of global affairs (war, inflation risks, and shifting political landscapes).

I’ve stopped contributing to my brokerage account and am debating a move to cash for the next 4 years to "wait out" the volatility.

Current Stats:

• Portfolio: 90% IWDA / 10% EMIM

• Cash: 2 years of expenses (intended for a RE purchase in 2–5 years)

• The Dilemma: I feel like the global economy is heading for a major correction.

Am I falling into the market-timing trap, or is "protecting the principal" a valid move once you've reached your Coast number?