Some of the cheapest housing of any major European city is attracting a wave of foreign buyers to the German capital, promising a new property boom after a false start after the fall of the Berlin Wall nearly 20 years ago.
Buyers from Britain, Scandinavia, Ireland and the US are leading the rush to snap up apartments in the once-divided city, making the 12 months up to last November the busiest on the property market since World War II, estate agents say.
Foreigners were responsible for 70 percent of the transactions, the German federation of estate agents said, with Danes spearheading the march. The interest is so high that Danish estate agents have opened offices in the city.
One Danish agent, Esben Tjalvi, said Danes found the prices too good to resist: "At 1,500 to 2,000 euros [US$2,200 to US$2,950] per square meter, it's up to four times cheaper than in Copenhagen and Stockholm," Tjalvi said.
But private buyers alone do not account for the eye-popping 28 percent rise in turnover in the first half of last year -- that is thanks to the muscular presence of investment funds that are snapping up dozens of apartment blocks.
Cerberus Capital Management and Goldman Sachs' Whitehall fund have invested 2.1 billion euros since 2004.
"In Berlin, the price per square meter is one of the cheapest of any major city in Europe, including those in eastern Europe," said Andrea Magnoni, the Italian cofounder of the Valore fund.
"The return for investors is higher than anywhere else at between 7 and 8 percent compared to 3.5 percent in Milan because even if the rents are moderate the purchase prices are always low enough to guarantee a good rate," he said.
Investors are speculating on rents rising.
The influx of investors to Berlin is having a marked effect on the landscape of the city.
Whole streets are being renovated without the city authorities having to dig into their already massively stretched finances. The decrepit apartments with coal-fired heating and toilets on the landing are disappearing and new shops are opening.
This in turn is creating jobs, not only in the property sector but also in the building trade.
But Berliners fear that the property boom is threatening to change the character of a city that has an alternative feel.
The once rare occurrence of tenants forced to leave so that the owner can raise rents is now becoming more common, some say.
Meanwhile, luxury apartments are mushrooming, with prices well beyond the reach of most residents in a city where 11 percent of the population is unemployed and thousands of students and hard-up artists make their home.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source