Berlin, September 13, 2016 – In 2015, 135,052 apartments were sold in major German cities (up 5.0 percent). Sales revenue rose even more sharply to 28.5 billion euros (up 14.6 percent). On average, an apartment changed hands for 211,371 euros (up 9.1 percent). These figures come from the latest ACCENTRO Homeownership Report 2016, which analyzes data from appraisal committees for Germany’s 82 largest housing markets. The big winner in this year’s report is Berlin, which set several records in 2015. “The Berlin real estate market is showing incredible momentum,” explains Jacopo Mingazzini, CEO of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG. “This applies in particular to the number of condominiums sold and sales revenue. But the market for new-construction apartments is also experiencing very strong growth due to high demand.”
Sales Revenue Exceeds Five Billion Euros for the First Time
In Berlin, 24,356 condominiums were sold during the reporting year. With growth of 28.1 percent compared to the previous year, the capital has once again significantly surpassed its previous record of 23,100 units sold, set in 2013. Sales revenue from residential transactions in Berlin rose by an impressive 40.4 percent to 5.2 billion euros. This is by far the highest growth rate among Germany’s top seven cities. “Berlin is the first housing market to cross the five-billion-euro threshold in sales revenue, replacing last year’s winner, Munich, as the leader in the revenue ranking,” explains Mingazzini.
Berlin continues to have considerable growth potential
The average sales price for condominiums in Berlin has exceeded the 200,000-euro threshold for the first time. However, at 214,346 euros, the German capital ranks only in the middle of the pack among Germany’s major cities and is 37.5 percent below the price level of the other top-five real estate markets: Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, and Frankfurt am Main. “A comparison with the other top locations shows that the Berlin housing market still has considerable potential. Driven by strong population growth, the real estate market in Berlin will continue its impressive rise,” says Mingazzini. Experts expect Berlin’s population to reach 3.8 million by 2025. This corresponds to a growth rate of 8.3 percent. Another driver of this growth is the persistently historically low interest rates, which make home ownership affordable for broad segments of the population.
Sales of New-Construction Apartments Continue to Gain Momentum
Due to the consistently high demand for condominiums in Berlin, new construction continues to gain importance. As a result, the number of new-construction apartments sold in Berlin has increased more than sixfold since 2009. In the 2015 reporting year, 5,206 new-construction apartments were sold in Berlin, representing a massive increase compared to the 2,926 new-construction apartments sold in 2014. Munich, last year’s leader, trails far behind, with only 3,570 newly built apartments sold. The share of new-construction apartments in the total number of sales in Berlin stood at 21.4 percent in the reporting year (2014: 15.4 percent). “We are seeing a very positive trend in the new-construction segment. The rising number of building permits speaks for itself. To alleviate the tight supply situation in metropolitan areas, further policy decisions are needed to drive new construction forward. Policymakers should actively support these efforts and expedite the relevant procedures. Only then can the housing market continue to ease,” says Mingazzini.
About the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report
This marks the ninth time that ACCENTRO Real Estate AG has published the Homeownership Report. The analysis is based on homeownership transactions during the 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.
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 cities and metropolitan areas in eastern Germany, as well as the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region and Bavaria. ACCENTRO’s business activities encompass four core areas. These include the sale of apartments to owner-occupiers and private investors at market-rate rents, 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 portfolio owners, investors, and project developers. The shares of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG are listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN: A0KFKB, ISIN: DE000A0KFKB3). investors.accentro.de
Investor Relations Contact:
Thomas Eisenlohr
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG
Kantstraße 44/45
10625 Berlin
Email: eisenlohr@accentro.de
Phone: +49 (0)30 88 71 81 272