Land, houses and apartments in Germany received twice as much money last year as ten years earlier. The total investment volume for the purchase of real estate in 2018 was EUR 269 billion - a record figure.
This emerges from the real estate market report of the official expert committees. This is based on notarized sales contracts and thus precisely reflects the price development. The analyzes of real estate portals, however, are often based only on offer data.
Accordingly, more than two thirds of the investments are made in the housing market. "Prices continue to rise sharply, particularly in locations that are already expensive," said Anja Diers, chair of the working group of the upper expert committees. In view of the low interest rates, households are also willing to finance the prices called. "We cannot expect a trend reversal."
The prices of used freestanding homes have risen by an average of 4.3 percent annually since 2009.
- In 2018, they were highest nationwide in the Munich district with 10,200 euros per square meter .
- The city of Munich with 9,500 euros per square meter is followed by Frankfurt am Main, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart (each around 5,000 euros).
- The national average is 1750 euros.
- There are far fewer in the Mansfeld-Südharz districts in Saxony-Anhalt (490 euros) or in the Kyffhäuserkreis in Thuringia (410 euros).
In the east only agricultural land is expensive
Used condominiums have also become significantly more expensive since 2009: they grew by an average of 4.4 percent annually. The highest prices nationwide were paid by buyers in the city of Munich at 7150 euros per square meter and on Sylt (6350 euros). Nationwide, the average price per square meter of living space last year was around 1,550 euros.
Agricultural land has also become more expensive. "However, there is an east-west divide," the experts write. While prices in the new federal states roughly tripled within ten years, the increase in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland was significantly more moderate at around 50 percent.
The reasons for the extreme price increases on the real estate market are well known: extremely low interest rates attracted domestic and foreign investors to German cities. An enormous demand, driven by the plant emergency, met with a small supply.
Because of this development, experts have long warned of overheating in the real estate market. According to its financial stability report, the Bundesbank considers prices in many cities to be overvalued by 15 to 30 percent. A panel of experts headed by ECB chief Mario Draghi also warned of an overheating of the real estate market in Europe.
