As the old saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures”. All that’s missing is “…and desperate politicians to propose them.” In …
As the old saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures”. All that’s missing is “…and desperate politicians to propose them.” In …
Where to look There are three major internet portals, Immobilienscout24, Immowelt and Immonet. These are the sites most apartment-seekers use for their apartment …
Germany’s Constitutional Court recently ruled that the country’s property tax system needs an overhaul. Replacing the existing system is going to be …
2018 off to a flying start As expected, the German commercial investment market delivered a strong start to 2018. In Germany’s Top …
If you are planning a new property development in Germany any time soon, brace yourself: Construction costs are rising faster than at …
Almost six months will have passed between Germany’s parliamentary elections on 24.09.2017 and the results of the SPD’s members’ poll on 04.03.2018 …
For Germany’s students, the first of October marked the start of the 2017 winter semester. And for first-year students in particular, this …
How will new technologies change the German real estate landscape? What impact are new, primarily digital, technologies already having? If you’ve ever …
On September 24, 2017: Germany decides With the last Sunday in September fast approaching and election campaigning reaching fever pitch, Germany’s …
Union Investment and the German Tech Entrepreneurship Center (GTEC) have just crowned the most innovative PropTech companies in the world. The competition …
The Mietpreisbremse – literally the rental price brake – was introduced in Berlin in June 2015. Politicians hoped that the legislation would slow …
For anyone interested in the German real estate market, Spring is a key time of year. A flood of major surveys, reports …
Berlin hotel market – More than just a room for the night? The Berlin hotel market is booming. A total of …
For English-speakers, looking for an apartment to rent or buy in Germany involves a steep learning curve. Both size and fixtures are …
International buyers, especially in a major city like Berlin, are a significant group of potential customers. Many real estate agents and property …
Too much regulation, too much red tape, too few incentives for developers and investors – Germany’s real estate industry seems to be up …
The end of traditional, brick and mortar retail has regularly been proclaimed. The seemingly unstoppable juggernaut of online retail, more convenient than …
Suburban flight has become a big deal in Germany over the last few weeks. A comprehensive new study has just been published, the Postbank …
On 24 June 2016, the world woke to the shock result of the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum. Turnout was historically high, at …
Germans refer to it as “Barrierefreiheit” and English-speakers tend to describe it as either “accessible” or “universal/inclusive design” (rather than barrier-free). Originally developed …
Small apartments with one room, centrally situated and, of course, affordable – that shouldn’t be too much to ask for, should …
The Mietpreisbremse is coming under increasingly heavy fire. Originally designed to put a brake on rampant rental increases, restricting rents to a …
Whichever way you look at it, the number of new apartments being built in Germany is staggering. Does this mean that the …
When you think of a road map, it’s quite likely that the first thing that springs to mind will either be a …
Forecasts of a property bubble began appearing in the mainstream German press in 2014. At first it was just well-known doom-mongers and …
Sustainable buildings are being built and leased in greater and greater numbers. According to the latest “Certification and Sustainability Radar” (“CESAR”) report …
Energiewende (the name given to Germany’s energy transition) has become the latest German word to enter the English language. There are a …
Demands to provide a boost to municipal housing in Germany are growing ever louder. This has a lot to do with the …
Berlin’s Smart City roadmap and the projects that will secure a carbon neutral future From the home to the streets How smart …
German Federal Government’s Climate Protection Plan 2050 and the real estate industry Climate protection plan should not be allowed to endanger economic viability Tighter …
The focus of this blog is normally on Real Estate, which is admittedly a fairly broad focus ranging from different real estate …
We’re well into February and there has been a recent rush of facts and figures arriving as a flood of studies and …
Housing construction has become such a hot topic in Germany that it has broken out of the dedicated property sections of the …
Legal changes are on their way, both due to new laws being enacted and reforms to existing laws. It is important that anyone affected has sufficient time to …
Proptech is the umbrella term used to classify the property-related technologies, whether hardware or software, designed to serve landlords, property managers, portfolio owners …
The supply of housing (or, more appropriately, lack of supply) has been making headlines in both Germany and the UK this autumn. …
EnEV, Germany’s Energy Saving Ordinance, is something that everyone in Germany’s real estate industry is familiar with. After all, around 25% …
Project development – tax breaks planned Project development is crucial if Germany is to get to grips with its housing crisis. There was …
Urban development is back on the agenda in a big way in Germany. Faced with a shortage of affordable housing, a lack …
The new Bundesmeldegesetz (Federal Citizens’ Registration Act) came into force on 01.11.2015 and it looks like many of Germany’s tenants and landlords …
Why are there so few skyscrapers in Berlin? When you think of cities with magnificent, impressive or breathtaking skylines, Berlin is not …
Observing the impact of the refugee crisis on Germany’s housing market over the last few days has certainly been interesting. Alongside …
Germany may have Europe’s biggest economy and the EU’s largest population, but as far as the country’s listed real estate sector is concerned …
There has been considerable hype recently in connection with what is being marketed as a revolutionary new source of funding for real …
What does it say about our views of the world when British english speakers talk about “bricks and mortar” when referring to …
Bestellerprinzip and Mietpreisbremse: Germany’s tenancy law reforms, the Grand Coalition’s Mietrechtsnovellierungsgesetz (MietNovG), came into force on 01.06.2015 and brought a number of …
Berlin real estate – a planned economy Anyone who has ever read any reports on Germany’s property markets will know …
As far as housing is concerned, and as mentioned in a previous blog post, Germany can be seen pretty much as a …
Mietminderung (the right to withhold all or part of your monthly rent payment) was one of the first words that sprang to …
Grunderwerbsteuer is Germany’s tax on the transfer of real property (equivalent to stamp duty in the UK). Whether you are a developer buying land earmarked …
Anyone who has taken a stroll along Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm will have come across a number of landmark buildings, both old and new …
Everyone knows it: Berlin is “in”, tolerant, affordable—and growing. Monocle magazine just ranked the city as the third most “liveable” city in …
Milieuschutz—necessary intervention or a step too far? In this third article on the German housing market, we’re moving on to the third …
Mietpreisbremse—putting the brakes on In this second article on the German housing market, we’re going to examine the recent Mietpreisbremse (rental …
The Mietspiegel—A funhouse mirror? There is a great deal of interest in Germany’s housing markets from overseas’ investors and there are a …