Transactions involving the purchase of 50 or more residential units increased by 44% year on year in Germany last year, with 6.12 billion Euros transacted over the course of the year according to new data from CB Richard Ellis. Further, the number of units transacted also increased, with 92,000 units transacted across 194 transactions representing a 27% increase over 2010. This indicates an increase in appetite for portfolios of over 1000 units according to CBRE.

According to the data Berlin saw particularly strong residential demand. Apparently some 32,300 residential units were traded to a value of 2.3 billion Euros. This figure means that investment volumes in the federal capital were 37% of recorded investment volumes for Germany as a whole and also that the number of units sold represents 37% of residential units sold across Germany in 2011. This massive level of activity led to a surge in high end development projects in the city, and also triggered a rise in the per sqm price, which went up to 1,033 Euros. (more)

FRANKFURT—German manufacturing orders rose more than expected in December, driven by a surge in demand from outside the euro zone, in the latest sign that Europe’s largest economy may yet avoid recession despite the euro zone’s debt crisis.

New orders rose 1.7% on the month in adjusted terms, after slumping by a downwardly revised 4.9% in November, data from the economics ministry showed Monday. Experts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected an increase of 1% in December.

While German orders data are “very volatile”, the latest figures “seem to suggest that factory activity has not collapsed,” even after German economic growth moderated in the fourth quarter “as demand from abroad was hit by the global slowdown,” said Annalisa Piazza, a strategist at Newedge in London. “If anything, a slight pick-up is expected in the first quarter of 2012,” she said.(more)

If you want to bag yourself a bargain in an up-and-coming city, Berlin is the place to look, says property guru Jonny Benarr

THE PLACE

Some 135 million people visited Berlin in 2010 and it’s no wonder given the city’s unique and vibrant energy. This is evident in everything from the eclectic architecture to the open, friendly attitude of its people.

Germany is also a financial powerhouse and one of the most stable economies in the world. An estimated 84% of the city’s population rent rather than own. And, compared with capitals like London and Paris where you can expect to pay in excess of €10,000 per m2, in Berlin that figure is less than €3,000 per m2. Low-cost property combined with high rental demand equals an investor’s dream.

THE PROFESSIONALS

Darrell Smith from Buy Berlin (www.buyberlin.co.uk) is an estate agent and property finder dealing with both residential and commercial sales and lettings.

“Although compared with other European capitals Berlin is considered cheap, that is not going to be the case for long,” he says. “Historically, Berliners were happy to rent long-term, and many still will be, but with increasing rental costs they are switching on to the fact that it can be cheaper to have a mortgage.” (more)

Berlin experienced a record year for its office market in 2011, driven largely by a burgeoning technology start-up scene that is starting to attract the big players.

Surrendering to cliché, it appears that a new ‘Silicon Valley’ is springing up in the German capital after a 24.5% surge in office space leased by IT companies over the past 12 months.

Online retailers Amazon, Groupon and Zalando have all been attracted by Berlin real estate market’s relatively low rents and steady property prices.

When this is combined with a young, well educated and creative workforce, it creates an ideal location for start-up companies in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sectors looking for the most talented workers. (more)

Vienna-listed real estate investor CA Immo plans to invest some EUR 300 mln in the Berlin and Frankfurt real estate markets in 2012.

In a recent announcement, the company said Berlin is particularly attractive as a business location as it has a comparatively low level of income and rents, a broad mix of industries and a growing service sector.

Chairman Bruno Ettenauer: ‘In conjunction with a traditionally modest supply of new area, this yields a growth market that is resistant to crisis from the point of view of the property investor, and one in which CA Immo will also be planning to increase its activities in the years ahead.’ Frankfurt is and will continue to be a top location but is more vulnerable because of its ongoing strong orientation to the banking sector, he added. (more)

How Europe’s biggest economy grew employment during the crisis.

BERLIN, Germany — Unemployment is rising in most European Union countries, as the effects of crippling sovereign debt crisis, and the austerity measures prescribed to tackle it, take their toll.

Yet the bloc’s biggest and richest member has seemed almost immune to the effects of the crisis, particularly when it comes to its labor market. While dole queues lengthen in Spain, France and Greece, in Germany they are rapidly dwindling.

In fact Germany has seen the number out of work decrease to its lowest level since 1991. It’s a remarkable turnaround. (more)

Concerned about the euro zone crisis and suffering the pinch from painful austerity measures at home, de Vito is among many middle-class Europeans, especially from worst-hit Italy and Greece, seeking to shelter at least part of their life savings in property in the capital of the region’s strongest economy.

“I feel responsible for my two children and I thought I had to keep something for them while we are preparing for the worst,” said de Vito, a former court clerk who lives in a small town near Avellino and retired four years ago. (more)

Home sales in Germany rose by 22% in 2011 compared to the preceding year, with sales revenue of £8.6bn (€10.4bn) according to the German Real Estate Association (IVD).

The German property market, supported by cheap property prices and high rental rates, is attracting a growing number of property investors seeking high rental returns and potential room for capital appreciation. There is a huge rental market because Germans, in general, tend to rent rather than buy a home. (more)