Berlin Real Estate Insider

Berlin-Mitte and especially every location below Torstrasse is gaining momentum while locals as well as international buyers demand drive rental prices to so far unexpected hights.

Especially big flats with miore than 3 rooms, as well as flats offering barrier-free features are in high demand. TLG Immobilien a big real estate investor (strong in East Germany) just finished an heritage building in Max-Beer-Str. 3. The 4 vacant flats were advertised for 4 days, 40 people showed up at open house and 30 people actually showed interest in renting.

Astonishing enough the flats had no balcony and no elevator, but are nicely restorated.
Nevertheless the formerly named 10 Euro frontier even for good located well equipped flats seem to vanish. In this case TLG asked and got 10 Euro per sqm cold rent.

A new builidng in Ackerstr. is rented for EUR 13 and the renter had to bring his own kitchen.
At Elisabethkirche asking price is EUR 15, and I am sure they will get it.

main reason for Berlin top restaurant shiro-i-shiro to close doors are rental prices in there very nice berlin location at the corner of Münzstr. and Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. in Berlin Mitte.

Read articel in German from gourmet report.

on this website you can check wether a certain location is top, good, average or poor.
Immobilien Kompass

For people with in depth location knowledge redundant, but very good for a first pre-check.

Because this map from German based Capital Magazin is a little bit general,
we do have our own free map, about were to invest (or were to live),
we ask your email and your buying interest in berlin real estate (selfuser, investor, size of your budget, non at all e.g. journalist, appraiser, just researching) in exchange.

please send a map request to: map@reberlin.com (this is not an autoresponder, you talk to a human beeing, please behave like it :-))

According to Thomas Daily and AFIRE Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate Germany is (together with switzerland) in second place. Details here.

A 16.000m² loft space called “Kaufhaus für Kreative” in the center of “turkish” Kreuzberg is another weak signal that Kreuzberg is up and coming among developers and others. Especially the region close to river spree seems to be one new focus for Berlin developers. Just a question of time when the first residential development will pop up there.

This TV Report from Berlin based RBB (state owned) shows the new trend towards new buildings in Prenzlauerberg.
Click here to open the video (in German).

IVG Development announced yesterday the start of a new development close to Hackescher Markt and the Museums Island in the city center of Berlin (East). The project called “Hackesches Quartier” with rental floor space of 36,600 square meters of whom 80 per cent has been marketed before the start of the construction. Main renter of the 24.850 m² office space are Berlin based Gas supplier GASAG Berliner Gaswerke AG (8.500 m²), and Berlin based advertising and creative agency Scholz & Friends AG (8.000 m²). Buyer of the 145 Serviced Apartments with luxury standard (7.680 m²) is Hotel operator Adina Europe Ltd., a leading operator of serviced apartments in Europe and Australia all ready serving the Berlin market.

According to the March Issue 2007 of “BERLIN ESTATE NEWS” of Liegenschaftsfond:
“2006 was a boom year for the Berlin real estate market. The appeal of Berlin as a
real estate location will continue through 2007. In comparison to other major European
cities, property prices are still pretty low. In a comparison of German cities too,
Berlin has the lowest rents by far.”

Read the whole report about Berlin Real Estate trends according to Liegenschaftsfond.

IBB (Investitions Bank Berlin, a state owned bank) issued this report about housing and real estate trends in Berlin in 2006. Make sure you compare it with the 2005 Housing Report to get the trends.

According to German Income Tax Law (§ 7i EStG) Investments in the restoration of a heritage building are subject to faster than usally possible tax write offs.
The same applies for restoration of buildings in redevelopment areas [German Income Tax Law (§ 7 h EStG)].

Normal write offs are 2,5% per year for 50 years = 100%

The amount legible for write off is NOT the buying costs, nor the land, nor the buying side costs, BUT only the amount put into the restoration of the protected building after the sale.

Different write offs for different usage
Investments in buy-to-let property are handle little different than investments in properties for self usage:

Tax-write offs for buy-to-let investments
While renting the property the tax breaks are slightly different:
8 years with 9 % p. a. and the following 4 years with 7 % p. a. (§ 7 i EStG) = 100%

Write-offs for restoration in buildings for self usage
are 10 years with 9 % p. a. (§ 10 f EStG) = 90%

Because of this laws most heritage buildings are offered without restoration, and typically one signes a separate contract for the construction.
The start after the sale is very important to not loose the write off possibilities.