Altro Real Estate Group Acquires Immo Katrien in Its Anniversary Year!

Katrien Baele was born and raised in Deinze, but lost her heart to the “Queen of Seaside Resorts.” On January 27, 2016, she opened Immo Katrien on Aimé Liebaertstraat, on the border between Ostend and Bredene. The real estate agency quickly became an established name in Ostend and the surrounding municipalities and deliberately focuses on the sale of existing homes and apartments.

Wave of consolidation

As of this week, Immo Katrien is operating under the new name Altro Vastgoed Oostende. The acquisition is a good example of the wave of consolidation that has been underway in the sector for several years now. At the same time, owner Katrien Baele wanted to continue growing her business, but doing so on her own is no easy feat.

Altro Vastgoed Oostende will receive support in the areas of marketing, digitalization, administration, and HR from the Altro headquarters in Heusden/Destelbergen. However, nothing will change for homebuyers and loyal customers: they will still be able to rely on Katrien Baele, who, as office manager, will remain the familiar face of the office. ​

“The real estate market has undergone tremendous changes in recent years: legal regulations, online marketing strategies, data acquisition, IT, and more have all become so important. It was no longer feasible to handle everything on my own. By partnering with Altro Real Estate Group, my office receives centralized support, I benefit from additional expertise, and we can continue to expand our operations over time. And that can only benefit our clients.” – Katrien Baele, owner of Immo Katrien

New colleagues with local knowledge

Together with Altro CEO Dave Bracke, Katrien Baele will be looking for new colleagues to join her team in the coming months. The focus is primarily on real estate agents with a strong knowledge of the Ostend real estate market. With the arrival of new colleagues, Altro Vastgoed Oostende hopes to expand its portfolio in the medium term to include new construction projects and coastal real estate, which is of interest to homebuyers looking for a second home and investors. Until now, Immo Katrien has primarily focused on buyers looking for their first home.

“For years, at Immo Katrien, I’ve strived to make a difference by providing buyers and sellers with expert guidance and local expertise. That will continue to be the case in the future. Thanks to this acquisition, I’ll also have the opportunity to train new local talent and explore new horizons. I’m really looking forward to that.” – Katrien Baele, owner of Immo Katrien

The same DNA

Thanks to its many years of experience and local expertise, Immo Katrien had been on Altro Vastgoedgroep’s radar for some time. The 2022 Real Estate Agent of the Year has experienced strong growth since its founding in 2017, opening 10 of its own offices in the provinces of East and West Flanders, Mechelen, and Brussels. Late last year, it acquired two offices in Edegem and Hemiksem and entered into a partnership with Living Stone. With Immo Katrien, Altro Vastgoedgroep is now also establishing a presence on the Belgian coast.

“We had been looking for an office in Ostend that shared our values for quite some time. Immo Katrien fits the bill perfectly. Over the past ten years, Katrien has built up a wealth of local expertise; she is highly motivated and ambitious, and provides excellent service by treating her clients with a personal touch. Those are exactly the values that are very important to us.” – Dave Bracke, CEO of Altro Real Estate Group