Berlin, 21 September 2020 – In the 82 cities covered, a total of 129,473 condominiums changed hands in 2019. This implies a year-on-year increase by 5,043 flats or roughly four percent. It goes to show that the downtrend in condominium sales has been checked. After three consecutive years of declining sales figures, 2019 became the first year that saw sales rebound and perk up again. The highest number of flats were sold in the three metropolises Berlin (18,515), Munich (10,373) and Hamburg (6,341). These three cities alone account for 27.21 percent of all sales. Cologne, Dresden and Leipzig placed fourth, fifth, and sixth in the ranking. Smaller Class B cities also reported one-year increases in condominium sales, in some cases substantial ones. Heidelberg took the top spot after seeing sales increase by 39.83 percent, with Regensburg in second place after a 31.51-percent increase. Several cities in the Ruhr also made it into the upper ranks, most notably Gelsenkirchen (+29.28 percent) and Herne (+29.01 percent).

“The ACCENTRO Homeownership Report’s data shows that condominiums remained very much in demand in 2019. One of the tell-tale aspects suggesting as much is the overall increase in sales activities. For instance, the number of cities with more than 1,000 condominium sales climbed from 32 to 34. The increased number of transactions is probably attributable to yet another interest rate cut and to the anticipation of the end of this real estate cycle,” elaborated Prof. Dr. Michael Voigtländer, Head of the Financial Markets and Real Estate Markets Competence Unit at the IW Institute and, for the first time, responsible for data collection this year.  

Berlin Maintains Strong Revenue Performance

Although the number of sales in Berlin declined, just the way it did in Hamburg, (-1.96 percent and -2.25 percent, respectively), the federal capital remained the city with the highest number of condominiums sold and the highest revenue total. In fact, with revenues in the amount of 6.25 billion euros, Berlin accounted for nearly one fifth of the national total. That being said, Munich managed to narrow the gap separating it from Berlin nearly down to half of what it was the previous year. The Bavarian state capital improved its latest ranking by 16.57 percent after increasing its revenue total from 4.76 billion euros last year to 5.5 billion euros this year. Total revenues across all of the 82 cities increased significantly. Condominiums in a total value of 35 billion euros changed hands, implying a year-on-year increase by 3.37 billion euros.  

New-Build Sales on Significantly Higher Level

A total of 27,164 new-build units were sold in 2019. The cities with the highest number of sales were Berlin (4,608), Munich (2,826) and Hamburg (1,593). Another area where the number of condominium sales was particularly high is eastern Germany. East German cities that once again placed in top spots include Dresden in fifth place (1,329), Leipzig in eleventh place (504) and Chemnitz in twelfth place (488). The number of new-build flats sold reflects the appeal of Germany’s major cities. A look at the number of sales per 1,000 residents underlines the attractiveness of eastern German cities when it comes to the acquisition of new-build flats. In this list, the cities of Dresden, Chemnitz and Leipzig claimed the ranks two through four. Aside from the East German cities, the Ruhr keeps gaining in attractiveness. Cities in the Ruhr such as Gelsenkirchen (72), Herne (122) or Bochum (207) scored high in the new-build-sales ranking.

“The rising number of new-build sales are reassuring while also mirroring the increase in completions. However, to match the number of new-build units with actual demand, municipal governments should commit to a consistent construction policy. In many cities, the reality on the ground is quite different. A steadily growing number of standards for new-build units, understaffed building authorities, historic district protection areas, condominium conversion bans—which in the case of Berlin has been enforced with increasing strictness over the past years—all of these block the path to homeownership for a large number of private households,” elaborated Lars Schriewer, CEO of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG.  

About the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report

This edition marks the thirteenth time that ACCENTRO Real Estate AG published its Homeownership Report. Yet for the first time, the homeownership report was compiled in collaboration with the IW Economic Institute this year. The analysis is based on residential property sales transacted in all of Germany’s 82 major cities during the reporting year of 2019. A significant distinction that sets the report apart from similar publications, most of which rely on expert appraisals or on analyses of supply-side data, is that it draws on the data of the cities’ property valuation committees. The report consists of two different parts. While the first part compares the various housing markets, using a variety of criteria, the second part breaks down the market data in detail for each of the 82 cities studied. Detailed findings of the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report on Germany’s ten most populous cities and the trends of the past twelve years are also available online in the ACCENTRO database, and can be retrieved in the form of 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