Berlin, 1 October 2018 – A total of 7,316 condominiums changed hands in the Rhine-Main region in 2017, specifically in the cities of Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Darmstadt and Offenbach. This implies a decline of 7.65 percent year on year (7,922 units). However, the sales volume remained largely stable, dropping by a mere 0.2 percent to 2.46 billion euros. “The largely stable sales performance of the homeownership markets in the Rhine-Main region points to pent-up demand, which will fuel further price increases,” explained Jacopo Mingazzini, CEO of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG. These are some of the findings of the new 2018 ACCENTRO Homeownership Report that is based on the analysed data of property valuation committees for the 82 largest housing markets in Germany.

Clear Drop in the Number of Apartments Sold in Frankfurt

The number of condominiums sold in Frankfurt am Main declined by a drastic 12.54 percent to 3,556 units (2016: 4,066 units). The sales volume declined to 1.452 billion euros (2016: 1.523 billion euros) or by 4.66 percent. Sales in Offenbach decreased by 9.65 percent to 627 units and in Wiesbaden by an actual 11.19 percent to 1,230 percent. By contrast, Mainz and Darmstadt count among the cities with the highest growth rates—comparatively speaking—in the metro areas of Germany’s largest cities. Both cities saw their sales figures increase, the former by 6.64 percent to 1,317 units, the latter by 8.12 percent to 586 units. “Cities in the greater Frankfurt region, such as Wiesbaden, Mainz, Darmstadt or Offenbach, benefited from the price trend in Frankfurt proper,” Mingazzini explained.

Supply Shortage Drives Prices up by Nearly Ten Percent

The pent-up demand, being substantial anyway, is exacerbated further by the dip in sales and keeps driving up condominium prices. Between 2016 and 2017, the average condominium price in the Rhine-Main region went up from 268,000 euros to c. 295,000 euros. This equals a price growth of close to ten percent. The Rhine-Main region is now represented no less than four times among the top ten in the average condominium price ranking for Germany with the cities Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Wiesbaden and Mainz. With a price growth of 9.01 percent and an average price of 408,000 euros (up from 374,619 in 2016), Frankfurt remained the second-priciest city in Germany behind Munich (448,000 euros) and ahead of Hamburg (401,383 euros). “Especially in Frankfurt, the price trend is unlikely to change in the near future, given the city’s rapid demographic growth,” according to Mingazzini.

New-Build Construction Sluggish Despite Pent-up Demand

The number of new-build condominiums in the major cities of the Rhine-Main metro region suffered an 8.96-percent drop during the year under review. Overall, a total of 2,844 newly completed condominiums were sold in the five relevant housing markets. Nearly 60 percent of the transactions were closed in Frankfurt am Main. During the year under review, new-build condominium sales here added up to 1,704 units (a decline by 14.89 percent). The fastest percentage increases, however, were registered in Darmstadt (up 39.47 percent) and Wiesbaden (up 7.73 percent).

About the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report

This year’s edition marks the eleventh time that ACCENTRO Real Estate AG published its Homeownership Report. The analysis is based on residential property sales transacted in all of Germany’s 82 major cities during the reporting year of 2017. The fact that it has access to the actual data of the surveyor committees sets this report distinctly apart from similar publications that tend to be based on expert assessments or the evaluation of quotes. Detailed findings of the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report on Germany’s “Big Seven” cities and the trends of the past ten years are also available online in the ACCENTRO database, and can be retrieved in selective drilldowns: Home Ownership Report

About ACCENTRO Real Estate AG

ACCENTRO Real Estate AG is a residential property investor and Germany’s market leader in housing privatisations. Its real estate portfolio consisted of around 5,200 units as of 31 December 2020. In addition to Berlin, regional focal points include East German cities and conurbations, as well as the Rhine-Ruhr metro region and Bavaria. The business activity of ACCENTRO comprises four core divisions. These are the tenant-sensitive retailing of condominiums to owner-occupiers and private buy-to-let investors, the sale of real estate portfolios to institutional investors, the set-up and management of a proprietary real estate portfolio, and third-party condominium marketing for property asset holders, investors and developers. The shares of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG are listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (German securities code number WKN: A0KFKB, ISIN: DE000A0KFKB3). investors.accentro.de