Forest, Uccle, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert: three Brussels neighbourhoods under the microscope

Choosing a municipality in Brussels means weighing up budget, transport, access to nature and the outlook for the neighbourhood. Forest, Uccle and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert illustrate this diversity well. The first, in the south-west, is changing rapidly around major public projects. The second, the largest of the southern municipalities, is known for its green, residential character. The third, in the east, combines family housing, a university hub and a metro line. Here are the facts you need to compare them.

The three municipalities in figures

• ⊞ Indicator | Forest | Uccle | Woluwe-Saint-Lambert | Region
• Population (1 January 2025) | 58,675 | 87,194 | 60,956 | 1,255,795
• Area | 6.3 km² | 22.9 km² | 7.3 km² | 162.4 km²
• Density (inhabitants/km²) | 9,325 | 3,812 | 8,357 | 7,732
• Average apartment price (2025) | €294,366 | €378,206 | €342,002 | €301,666 (9 months of 2026)
• Average house price (2025) | €636,733 | €720,457 | €714,824 | €609,227 (9 months of 2026)

Sources: IBSA (Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis), Mini-Bru 2026 (population, area, density); 2025 average prices by municipality from notaire.be, as reported by KBC Brussels; Fednot regional average for the first nine months of 2026. A municipal average masks wide differences from one neighbourhood, and one building, to the next.

22.9 km²: the area of Uccle, more than three times that of Forest (6.3 km²) or Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (7.3 km²), with half the population density.

Forest: a municipality in transformation

Quality of life and green spaces

Forest is a densely built municipality, lying between the Senne valley and the heights of Altitude Cent. It has two large parks: the wooded, hilly Duden Park and Forest Park. The latter reopened on 25 June 2025 after a three-year complete renovation carried out by Beliris (around €10 million): paths redesigned to the 1950s plans, restored park furniture, a new playground, the chalet converted into a café-restaurant and rainwater infiltration areas.

Cultural life centres on the WIELS contemporary art centre, housed in the former Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery, and the Forest National concert hall.

Urban projects

• A new regional park on the Wiels site. On 28 July 2026, the Brussels government decided to turn the "Marais Wiels" into a 16,000 m² neighbourhood park, alongside the railway lines towards Brussels-South (Midi) station. Beliris will design it with Brussels Environment (Bruxelles Environnement), which will manage it. Works are due to start in 2028, and the site will be protected from any construction.
• Forest Abbey. The site, which belongs to the municipality, is being renovated to become a cultural hub ("ABY") bringing together a music academy, a library, a cultural centre and a youth centre, with redesigned gardens. The announced budget is almost €22 million. The timetable published at the end of 2024 anticipated completion of the works in spring 2027.

Transport

Forest is served by several STIB tram lines and by SNCB railway stations (Forest-Est, Forest-Midi). The Albert premetro station, on the border between Forest and Saint-Gilles, is a hub of the tram network serving the south of the city, notably for lines 4 and 51. The Metro 3 project, which was due to terminate at Albert, has however been frozen indefinitely by the regional government, according to BX1 (September 2026).

The market

Forest remains the most affordable of the three municipalities: according to the notaries' barometer, the median apartment price there was €280,000 in 2025 (- 3.3% year on year), close to the regional median (€265,000). Rents in Forest rose by 7.6% in 2025 according to Federia, one of the steepest increases in the Region.

Uccle: the green municipality of the south

Quality of life and green spaces

Uccle is a predominantly residential municipality, with a density well below the regional average. It is home to Wolvendael Park and its 18th-century château, the Verrewinkel woods, the edge of the Sonian Forest (forêt de Soignes) and the outskirts of the Bois de la Cambre. According to a Brussels Environment report (2023 data) reported by BX1, Uccle is one of the south-eastern municipalities with vegetation cover of between 60% and 83%, and one of the five municipalities where tree cover exceeds 30%.

The municipality is also home to the Royal Meteorological Institute, the Royal Observatory of Belgium and the Van Buuren Museum and Gardens.

Schools

There is a wide choice of schools, including French-speaking and Dutch-speaking schools and several international establishments: the European School Brussels I, the Lycée français Jean-Monnet and the Collège Saint-Pierre. This partly explains demand from families and expatriates.

Transport

The avenue Brugmann – chaussée d'Alsemberg corridor is served by several STIB tram lines, including lines 4, 51 and 97. Tram 51 runs along the chaussée d'Alsemberg to Uccle-Calevoet station and its Van Haelen terminus. Several SNCB stations complete the links to the centre and the outskirts. Up-to-date timetables and routes are available at stib.be and sncb.be.

The market

Uccle is the most expensive of the three municipalities, with an average apartment price of €378,206 in 2025. On the rental side, Federia ranks it among the most expensive municipalities in the first half of 2026, with an average apartment rent of €1,545. A point for owners to note: Uccle is one of the nine municipalities that raised their municipal share of the withholding tax on property (précompte immobilier) in 2026.

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert: the metro and the campus

Quality of life and green spaces

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert brings together very different neighbourhoods: the shopping street of avenue Georges Henri, the Kapelleveld garden city and the Roodebeek hub around Woluwe Shopping. Malou Park is its main green space, while Woluwe Park lies in the neighbouring municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.

Amenities and schools

The municipality is home to the Brussels campus of UCLouvain (faculties of medicine) and the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc university hospital, as well as the European School Brussels II. These institutions generate steady demand for housing, from families as well as students and hospital staff.

Transport

This is the municipality's main asset: metro line 1 crosses it from west to east, with stations at Joséphine-Charlotte, Gribaumont, Tomberg, Roodebeek, Vandervelde, Alma and Crainhem. Heading west, the line reaches Montgomery, then Mérode, on the edge of Cinquantenaire Park, and the European quarter.

Urban projects

The municipality plans to redevelop avenue Georges Henri for around €6 million from its own funds: a partly pedestrianised place Degroff, wider pavements, some thirty trees planted and less parking (from 126 to 90 spaces). The permit application was due to be submitted at the end of 2025. On the tax front, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is the only Brussels municipality to have reduced its surcharges (centimes additionnels) on the withholding tax on property in 2026 (from 3,190 to 3,175), for the second year running.

The market

With an average apartment price of €342,002 in 2025, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert sits between Forest and Uccle.

Which municipality for which profile?

• Forest appeals to buyers looking for a more affordable entry price who are betting on an improving quality of life (renovated Forest Park, the future Wiels park, the abbey).
• Uccle suits households that prioritise space, greenery and choice of schools, and that can accept a higher budget.
• Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is for those who want direct metro access to the centre and the European quarter, and proximity to a major university and hospital hub.

In every case, visiting at different times of day, examining the EPB certificate (certificat PEB) and the service charges, and consulting the rent reference grid (grille indicative des loyers) if you are an investor all remain essential. This article is for information only and does not constitute personalised financial or investment advice. The data reflect the sources available as at 21 October 2026.

Sources

• IBSA (perspective.brussels), Mini-Bru 2026: ibsa.brussels
• KBC Brussels, "Prix immobiliers à Bruxelles : le point sur 2025" (average prices by municipality, source notaire.be): kbcbrussels.be
• notaire.be (Fednot), Q3 2026 barometer, 13/10/2026: notaire.be
• BX1, 2025 median prices by municipality (notaries' barometer), 04/02/2026: bx1.be
• BX1, Federia 2025 barometer, 04/09/2025: bx1.be; first half of 2026, 11/09/2026: bx1.be
• BX1, new 16,000 m² regional park on the Wiels site, 28/07/2026: bx1.be
• La Libre, "Le parc de Forest retrouve son éclat après trois ans de travaux", 25/06/2025: lalibre.be
• The Brussels Times, start of the renovation of Forest Abbey, 15/11/2024: brusselstimes.com
• BX1, Metro 3 frozen, 15/09/2026: bx1.be
• BX1, the greenest Brussels municipalities (Brussels Environment report), 24/06/2026: bx1.be
• BX1, tram track works on avenue Brugmann and chaussée d'Alsemberg (lines 4, 51 and 97): bx1.be
• Wikipedia, Uccle, Forest, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, tram 51
• BX1, avenue Georges Henri redevelopment project, 23/09/2025: bx1.be
• BX1, 2026 surcharges on the withholding tax on property, 05/08/2026: bx1.be

Our projects in these three municipalities

Living Home Promotion is developing full-renovation projects, carried out with its partner Next Homes, in each of these municipalities. In Forest, on avenue du Parc: ten one-bedroom apartments close to Forest Park and the future Wiels park (Forest project). In Uccle: a 1935 building on chaussée d'Alsemberg, where sales of nine apartments will open on 1 March 2027 (Alsemberg project), and the Artéa project on avenue Brugmann and place Danco, which will comprise fourteen apartments including a rooftop extension, with sales opening on 1 June 2027 (Artéa project). In Woluwe-Saint-Lambert: eight two- and three-bedroom apartments not far from the Cinquantenaire, with handover scheduled for the end of November 2026 (Woluwe project).