Historical Background
Berlin is becoming recognised as one of the last great ‘value’ opportunities in Europe, in terms of property investment. Often compared to London in the early 1990’s, not only is it the capital city of Germany, but by virtue of Germany’s predominant position in Europe it is arguably the place, second only to Brussels, where important European policies are currently influenced.
Companies, advisers and individuals who need to be close to this legislative centre have been moving to Berlin in ever increasing numbers for the past decade and are forecast to continue to do so. Berlin’s special status as an enclave of the (then) western powers meant that little investment in the property stock of Berlin occurred during that time, up until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
After a brief ‘bubble period’ in the early nineties, the property market languished. In the new millennium, many government departments relocated from Bonn (the interim administrative centre) thus starting a ‘reverse-diaspora’ process which in turn has robustly supported demand, both for rental and property purchase in the city’s real estate market.