Buy Berlin Blog

Germany, with its economy booming, has little sympathy for Greece

gary — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:51:46 +0000

BERLIN — While the rest of Europe nervously peers at an insecure future, Germans are spending their evenings in long lines, hoping for a chance to buy or rent property before costs rise even more.

Since the euro crisis began, a Berlin housing boom has seen rents rise by 70 percent in posh districts, and 23 percent even in dicey areas. And this newly forming housing bubble is just one of many signs that the fortunes of Germany and the eurozone it leads have taken sharply divergent paths. As the euro crisis deepens, and more and more neighbors slip down the path toward economic perdition, it is increasingly obvious that the German economy is growing healthier. (more)

German economy powers on, French growth evaporates

gary — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:14:04 +0000

(Reuters) – Germany’s economy confounded expectations by posting robust growth in the first quarter of the year while France could summon up none at all and Italy slid further into recession, data showed on Tuesday.Gross domestic product in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, rose by 0.5 percent on the quarter, bouncing back from a 0.2 percent slide in the last three months of 2011. France’s economy stagnated, although it grew slightly at the end of last year. (more)

German Economy Driving European Growth in Business Services

gary — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:55:25 +0000

BERLIN and AMSTERDAM, May 13, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The global market for business services dropped over 20 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2012, but German-speaking markets still grew slightly, according to industry reports. Germany is a key destination for localized service providers seeking well-trained, multilingual staff.

“Germany’s economy is performing well despite uncertainty in Europe. Companies are looking to us as a safe haven for their investments,” said Dr. Josefine Dutschmann, business services expert at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin.

GSW Plans to Increase Its Apartments by Up to 13% by Year’s End

gary — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:40:00 +0000

GSW Immobilien AG (GIB), the German residential landlord that first sold shares to the public last year, will increase the number of homes it owns by as much as 13 percent this year to take advantage of rising rents in Berlin, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Zinnoecker said.

GSW will buy as many as 7,000 homes, raising the total to 60,000, Zinnoecker said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in the German capital. GSW purchased about 5,000 homes last year and plans to own 70,000 in the “medium term.”

“We won’t buy at any price, but there are some good opportunities, especially for portfolios valued at more than 60 million euros,” Zinnoecker said.(more)

German real estate rises on high demand, low loan rate

gary — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:28:22 +0000

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

Apr 23 – The current rise in German residential real estate prices after two decades in the doldrums could potentially continue for the next two to three years, says Standard & Poor’s today in the report: “Why Germany’s Rising House Prices Are Bucking The European Trend.”

“This is likely to be fueled above all by an excess of demand over supply especially in the Western part of the country, low interest rates, rising employment, and lower household debt than in most other European countries,” said Jean-Michel Six, Standard & Poor’s chief economist for Europe. (more)

CA Immo helps design the new Berlin

gary — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:07:53 +0000

Berlin’s property market is booming – an increasing population and growing services sector are driving demand sky-high both for apartments and for offices. This is contrasted by a supply of property that has seen building solely on an “as-required” basis over the past few years and is scarce in many segments. This potential is increasingly enticing international property companies into the German capital and Austria also has a strong presence there.

Since taking over the German urban district developer, Vivico, in 2008, CA Immo has had a presence in Berlin with total property assets with a market value of about 519 million Euros. Just under half of this (222 million Euros) is accounted for by property assets under development. CA Immo currently has three development projects under construction in Berlin with a total investment volume of 194 million Euros. The Group also owns some 1.4 m sq m of land reserves (with planning permission) in the German capital, some of these reserves being large sites with the potential for residential construction. (more)

Berlin rivals London in attracting Greek property investment

gary — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:03:35 +0000

Greek capital transfers for the purchase of property abroad, particularly Germany, have acquired a steady pace in recent months.

“We are doing business with people interested in properties that are taxed less and yield higher returns than those at home,” says ImmoConsult’s Konstantin Vollbach. He notes, however, that most prospecting investors find it hard to sell a property they own in Greece in order to buy one abroad because of lack of interest and low prices. (more)

German Mid-Sized Firms to Create 180,000 Jobs, Creditreform Says

gary — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:34:03 +0000

German medium-sized companies, whose business confidence rose to a 20-year high, will create 180,000 new jobs by the end of the year, business information service Creditreform said today, citing a survey.

Creditreform’s spring business sentiment measure for German medium-sized companies rose to 55.4, the highest since reunification in 1990, from 49.2 a year ago, the company said today at a briefing in Berlin. A measure of hiring intentions remained “expansive” even as it fell to 17.2 from 20.4. (more)

German market booms as investors benefit from high returns

gary — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:20:08 +0000

Germany’s residential real estate sector is booming as investors reap high returns after decades of stagnant prices, with values rocketing in many of it key cities.

However, the German government has decided to step in and impose strict measures to prevent the property bubble from bursting says market analysts IPD (Investment Property Databank).

The DIX German Property Index for 2011 stood at 5.5 percent, the highest return of this millennium and higher than the total return forecast of 4.8 percent for the year, IPD told OPP. And residential property proved to be the highest achieving sector for total returns, coming in at 7.8 percent in 2011 with an income return of 5.3 percent and positive capital growth for the first time in years. (more)

Germany’s house price bubble is only just getting started

gary — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:32:57 +0000

Unemployment in Germany is now at its lowest since 1990.

Today a mere 6.7% of the population are jobless – a record low for the unified country (ie since 1990).

Those in work are pretty confident in their futures too. How do we know? They’re spending money.

The exporting powerhouse that has developed in Germany on the back of euro weakness is still doing well of course. But as the FT points out this morning, what has really grabbed the attention of the economists is the fact that private consumer spending rose 1.5% last year, and looks set to do something similar this year. (more)