Berlin real estate is property investor delight

Berlin Germany is about to experience a revival in German real estate and investors large and small  have already seen the potential,  it is now time for overseas investors to take a good long look at the compelling evidence that Berlin is a great place to buy investment property. Berlins housing market which has been for years in decline is now showing signs of growth as it emerges as one of the  cheapest cities in Europe  to buy property.

 

 

Insite a German based real estate Consultancy is convinced that Berlin is the next big thing in German and European real estate investment. So why are Berlin housing price so low? Insite GmbH explain that the Berlin experienced a construction boom in the early nineties which coincided with both the reduction in residents and their purchasing power. This was combined with increased unemployment and financial strains on city and federal coffers. The net result was a fall in the price of property and rents, an increase in the availability of office and residential space without an appropriate increase in demand. Between 1994 and 2004 new property prices fell in Berlin by 30% and rents by 15%.The disposal of large property portfolios by public authorities further undermined price levels. Only in the last three years has this situation stabilised. Overall while property prices in most European countries significantly increased those in Berlin stagnated or fell. Berlin now represents the most competitively priced property in Europe.

 

 

Property investment specialist Assetz said that after 15 years of stagnation the Berlin property market was finally starting to stir as big business arrived, attracted by low start-up costs and cheaper office space than in Munich and Frankfurt.

 

 

Recently Prudential Real Estate Investors announced that it has acquired the famous Ewerk office situated in the heart of Berlin. The Ewerk, a former transformer station built in 1928, was renovated during 2004 and 2005. Its 157,000 square feet is comprised of 85 percent offices and 10 percent apartments. It’s walking distance to Checkpoint Charlie and right next to the well-known Potsdamer Platz, which features the Daimler-Chrysler Areal and the Sony Center.

 

 

Private equity funds have invested approx 35 billion euros in the German property market in the last five years! Investors include names such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Terra Firma, Cerberus etc. For example, Fortress (an American private investment firm) bought 48,000 apartments in Dresden for 1.7 billion euros in March, 2006.See International Herald Tribune  

 

 

Air traffic into Berlin airports is up by 8% in 2006 and flights arrive from Ireland (Belfast, Dublin and Cork) and the UK (Bristol, East Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Gatwick and Luton). A new airport (Berlin Brandenburg International) is under construction which will bring significant levels of investment

 

 

 

Berlin property prices are low you can buy an apartment in Berlin for little more than 50,000 € - you can’t buy a garage for this price in London or Dublin!

See Berlin Property for sale