Berlin, September 26, 2018 – Leipzig and Dresden have reaffirmed their significant role in the German housing market. Both of these major cities in Saxony remain among the top 10 cities with the highest sales volumes. Leipzig reports stable sales figures, with only a slight decline of 3.88 percent in the number of units sold, down to 4,688 units (from 4,877 in 2016). This decline is also significantly lower than that of the top 7 cities (with the exception of Düsseldorf). Dresden largely maintained the previous year’s level with an increase of 1.31 percent, reaching 4,170 units (4,116 units in 2016). In the nationwide ranking, Leipzig ranks fifth and Dresden sixth, ahead of Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. These findings are taken from the latest ACCENTRO Homeownership Report 2018, which analyzed data from appraisal committees for the 82 largest German housing markets. These include eleven housing markets in the new federal states (excluding Berlin).
Leipzig and Dresden Establish Themselves in the Top 10
With a turnover of 847.2 million euros (2016: 877.1 million euros), Leipzig has established itself as the most important market after the seven “A-cities,” a position that is unlikely to change in the future. The population is growing rapidly, and the unemployment rate fell from 11 to 7 percent between 2013 and 2017—with the trend continuing downward. Dresden holds onto tenth place with sales of 652.3 million euros (2016: 637.8 million euros). The condominium markets in Leipzig and Dresden continue to post by far the highest sales figures among East German cities.
Chemnitz posts the largest percentage increase in sales nationwide
Another East German city that is increasingly drawing attention is Chemnitz. There, the housing market has literally skyrocketed in recent years. Saxony’s third-largest city increased its apartment sales by approximately 83.59 percent in 2017, reaching 1,678 units (up from 914 units in 2016), thereby recording the largest sales increase of any major German city, followed by Cottbus with a 76.52 percent increase and 233 apartments sold (2016: 132).
For many years, Chemnitz suffered from a declining population, but since 2011, the population has been growing at a nearly constant rate. The high-tech sector that has emerged around the Technical University, as well as the strongly represented mechanical engineering and automotive industries, are particularly attractive and contribute to an overall positive development of the labor market. Cottbus in Brandenburg has also seen positive development in the housing market. The former center of East Germany’s lignite industry has successfully undergone structural change. However, there are also laggards in the eastern German states, such as Erfurt and Jena, where sales and housing prices declined significantly in 2017.
Potential for Price Growth
Housing prices in Chemnitz also rose from an average of 76,696 euros to 91,836 euros, representing a price increase of approximately 19.74 percent and placing it fifth in the Federal Republic’s ranking of price increases. However, East German cities cannot keep pace with most West German markets in terms of prices. Only Potsdam made it into the top 15; Leipzig—which, after all, is the city with the eighth-highest total sales volume in all of Germany—ranks only 35th. Leipzig, however, is experiencing a steady rise in prices. While apartment prices stood at 180,717 euros in 2017, they had been 148,758 euros five years earlier and 132,656 euros in 2007, representing an increase of about 36 percent.
New-construction sales are on the rise
Some select locations in eastern Germany also stand out as positive exceptions, having bucked the trend in 2017 to record growth in the new-construction segment. These include Leipzig, where 15.50 percent more new-construction condominiums were sold than in the previous year. In Chemnitz, the new-construction segment even saw a jump of 173.95 percent, and in Cottbus, a rise of 31.17 percent. In a ten-year comparison as well, three cities in eastern Germany—Magdeburg, Leipzig, and Berlin—lead the way.
About the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG has published its Homeownership Report for the eleventh time. The analysis is based on homeownership transactions from the 2017 reporting year in all 82 major German cities. By drawing on data from appraisal committees, the report differs significantly from similar publications, which are usually based on expert estimates or the analysis of listing data. Detailed results from the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report on the top 7 cities and trends over the past 10 years are also available online in the ACCENTRO database and can be filtered according to your specific criteria.
About ACCENTRO Real Estate AG
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG is a residential real estate investor and the market leader in residential privatization in Germany. As of December 31, 2020, its real estate portfolio comprised approximately 5,200 units. In addition to Berlin, its regional focus includes major East German cities and metropolitan areas, as well as the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region and Bavaria. ACCENTRO’s business activities encompass four core areas. These include the tenant-oriented sale of apartments to owner-occupiers and private investors, the sale of real estate portfolios to institutional investors, the development and management of its own real estate portfolio, and the marketing of apartments for property owners, investors, and project developers. The shares of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG are listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN: A0KFKB, ISIN: DE000A0KFKB3). investors.accentro.de
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