November 17th, 2016
Germany ranked first place of Europe’s most active markets for Commercial Real Estate Investment, according to an article from the UK based IPE Real Estate, who provide Global market intelligence for institutional real estate investment.
This is in itself is not unique because Germany had occupied the top spot also in 2012. However since the Brexit vote wherein the UK voted to leave the EU, money that was destined for the UK is now being targeted elsewhere. International investors -with cheap money, namely zero or negative interest rates -are looking for the stability and a relative robust economy which exposure to the Germany real estate market provides.
Another United Kingdom source is also echoing this sentiment. The UK Financial Times wrote in an article by James Shotter which appeared yesterday that Brexit has boosted Germany’s booming housing sector.
It said that global investors are also looking beyond residential apartments and commercial properties for assets such as hotels and care homes, which in Germany may have higher running costs but also offer the prospect of higher returns.
Regarding Berlin, the German capital, apartment rents and buying prices continue to rise with circa 40,000 people a year moving to the city. And this does not include Germany’s huge number of migrants — there were 442,000 asylum applications in 2015 — also needing accommodation.
All in all a very up-beat and booming prospect for German and Berlin property investment in 2017.