After a decade of poor performance Germany is once more becoming Europe’s economic powerhouse at the forefront of advanced industrial technology. Its population enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world.
So why is property in its capital so cheap?
The answer lies in its uniquely turbulent history.
After the war, industry fled the divided city. Reunification,
recession and entry into the euro caused house prices
to drop to some of the lowest levels in Europe. Berlin
property prices are still significantly below the 1990 level,
but have been rising by about 7% a year since 2007.
Home ownership levels in Germany are amongst the lowest in Europe at 44%. In Berlin the figure is around 15% due to decades of heavily subsidised rents, when both the Communist regime and the West sought to artificially prop up the isolated city. However, rents are expected to rise in the future, resulting in more people opting to buy.
Government initiatives are providing better financial packages to help up to half the population step on to the property ladder. The time is now ripe to climb onto the Berlin real estate market before this long-standing market correction resolves itself.
