Berlin, September 12, 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 German market for condominiums continues its dynamic growth,” explains Jacopo Mingazzini, CEO of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG. “While the Berlin housing market in particular continues to perform strongly, other regions are falling behind. The Homeownership Report shows that growth is becoming increasingly diversified.”
Real Estate Hotspots: Berlin Shows Impressive Growth
In Berlin, Germany’s largest housing market, 24,356 condominiums were sold in the 2015 reporting year. This once again significantly surpassed the record of 23,100 units sold in 2013. Sales in Berlin rose by an impressive 40.4 percent to 5.2 billion euros. This is by far the highest growth rate among all of Germany’s top seven cities. “Driven by strong population growth, Berlin’s real estate market has continued its impressive rise and once again overtaken last year’s winner, Munich, as the leader in the revenue ranking,” explains Mingazzini. In Munich, the increasingly scarce supply made itself felt. Sales cooled off by 2.8 percent, but sales revenue rose by 13.3 percent, underscoring the ongoing price increases in Bavaria’s capital. The biggest loser among the real estate strongholds is Düsseldorf. Sales revenue plummeted by 13.5 percent, and the number of sales fell by as much as 21.1 percent.
Sales of New-Construction Apartments Continue to Gain Momentum
In the 2015 reporting year, 27,760 new-construction apartments were sold. This represents strong year-over-year growth of 12.2 percent. “We are seeing a very positive trend in the new-construction segment. Building permit figures, particularly in major cities, speak for themselves. They have risen by 8.4 percent compared to the previous year and underscore the important role of new construction,” says Mingazzini. This is especially true for the Berlin housing market. One driver of this trend is the persistently historically low interest rates, which make home ownership affordable for broad segments of the population. “To alleviate the tight supply situation in metropolitan areas, policy decisions are needed to drive new construction forward. Policymakers should actively support this and expedite the relevant procedures. Only in this way can the housing market continue to ease,” says Mingazzini.
Eastern German Cities Continue to Catch Up
When examining the regional distribution of growth, it is striking that among the 20 cities with the strongest increase in sales, six are located in eastern Germany—led by Potsdam (first place); among the 20 cities with the highest sales declines, however, there is only one (Jena—66th place). In the cities of Potsdam, Gera, Berlin, Rostock, Cottbus, Leipzig, Dresden, Magdeburg, and Halle, sales rose by double-digit percentages. “These cities are by no means newcomers to the top rankings in the report, but they were able to significantly improve their performance once again this year,” says Mingazzini. “This is particularly true for Potsdam, which benefits greatly from Berlin’s appeal.”
About the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG has now published its Homeownership Report for the ninth time. 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 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 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