Berlin moves up on Europe's more lauded capitals

The appeal of property in Germany's premier city is outstripping London and Paris

"Berlin property tends to offer much more," Mr Upson added. This is attracting buyers, according to Nicolas Jeissing, the managing director of Engel & Volkers. He said: "We have seen a lot of interest from foreign buyers such as the Chinese, British and even of late the Greeks. We are currently building about 5,000 units a year and that is far too few for the numbers of professionals coming into Berlin. This is having an upward pressure on rents."

"Most hope that overseas property investment will financially wash its face. However, Berlin property tends to offer much more," Mr Upson added. This is attracting buyers, according to Nicolas Jeissing, the managing director of Engel & Volkers. He said: "We have seen a lot of interest from foreign buyers such as the Chinese, British and even of late the Greeks. We are currently building about 5,000 units a year and that is far too few for the numbers of professionals coming into Berlin. This is having an upward pressure on rents."(more)

New photos added to buyberlin flickr group

Images of one of our propertiers currently available.

Five-story front house with right and left wings, plus attic with total of 36 apartments. Most of the units have been modernized with granite bathrooms,

www.buyberlin.co.uk/property_details.php?PropertyID=266

Ebersstraße is a quiet residential street leading from the main street. You can quickly join Schloßstrasse the main shopping street and the adjoining district of Steglitz. Connection to public transport and motorway links to the city are very good.

German Economy’s Good Performance Being Closely Studied

As economists wait with bated breath for concrete action to prevent the crisis in the euro zone from spreading across the countries of Europe, German industry showed underlying strength as unemployment in Germany fell more than had been forecast.

The Federal Labor Agency based at Nuremberg came out with figures which showed unemployment in Germany falling to 6.9%. In November 20,000 more people were employed than anticipated bringing the actual number of unemployed down a notch to 2.91 million. Further evidence was provided by the Ifo economic institute which said that notwithstanding Europe’s woes, business confidence in Germany actually rose for the first time in five months. (more)

New Berlin Flickr group

We've started a flickr group about Berlin. It's such a culturally diverse and interesting city we thought it woud be good to share some of our pictures. Please do join us and submit your own.

Berlin is perhaps one of the most fascinating cities in Germany. Covering nearly 341 square miles of Berlin you will find it has a unique landscape. With its many parks, lakes and wooded areas, it is sometimes easy to forget that Berlin is the capital of Germany. The history of this city has been celebrated for many years attracting tourists from all over the world. It is estimated that nearly 80% of Berlin was destroyed during the Second World War. Perhaps one of Berlin 's most famous landmarks is the Berlin Wall, the 'Iron Curtain 'which divided this great city into two halves between 1961 and 1989. The East was governed by communism while the West was allowed to develop in a capitalist democratic government. Even now, more than a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the differences between East and West are still visible.

City of Berlin to tax hotel visitors in 2013

 

Nov 18 (Reuters Life!) - Tourists visiting Berlin will see the price of their hotel stays rise by five percent in January 2013, when the indebted city implements a new tax on hotels to help balance its budget.

 

Europe's third most visited capital after London and Paris, Berlin draws foreigners and Germans alike to take in the city's rich and troubled history amidst a thriving cafe culture. Some 20 million nights were spent in hotel rooms last year alone.

"We want Berlin to get richer and stay sexy," said Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit this week, playing on his known slogan Berlin is "poor but sexy." City officials say they hope to rake in at least 20 million euros ($27 mln) with the new tax. (more)

German Property Market Stays Hot

IVG Immobilien AG's €400 million ($551.1 million) purchase of the Silberturm office tower and an adjacent building in Frankfurt's banking district last week is the latest in a wave of high-profile real-estate deals in Germany's biggest cities.

And while investment in European commercial property is expected to slow in the fourth quarter amid economic uncertainty and tight lending, industry experts say buyers will continue pumping cash into German real estate in the fourth quarter and 2012.

Market observers say German cities such as Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin are less affected by economic concerns and speculation about the fate of the euro zone than other markets across Europe.(more)

Mood among investors remains buoyant in Germany

Interest in German commercial real estate remains high among both German and international investors. “Total transaction volume up to the end of the third quarter came to just under 16.8 billion euros, more than 27 percent above the previous year’s result,” says Andreas Trumpp, Head of Research at Colliers International in Germany. “The quarterly results have been very balanced thus far, fluctuating between 5.4 and 5.7 billion euros,” he adds. About 31% of the transaction volume registered between January and September (€ 5.2 billion) came from portfolio sales. International investors invested some €6.6 billion in Germany during this period, making them responsible for about 40% of the investment volume. Approximately €7.0 billion, or about 42% of the transaction volume, was registered in the country’s six top locations: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart.(more)