Real estate inheritance: majority wants to sell house or apartment instead of moving in

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Couple in the garden: "A little disappointed"

What would heirs most likely do with their parents' property? More than a third would sell the house or apartment. This was the result of a survey by the opinion research company Civey on behalf of the real estate start-up Wert Faktor. From the end of July to the beginning of August, Civey surveyed around 1,500 people who are between 18 and 49 years old and whose parents own a property.

Accordingly, 28 percent of those surveyed would rent out the property they inherited. Only one in five people wanted to move in themselves. One in ten would in turn pass the property on to their own children.

What if the legacy does not materialize because the seniors decide to sell the property in order to fulfill their own wishes? Around two thirds of those questioned were positive about this decision. They are of the opinion that the parents should decide for themselves or they are not dependent on it.

Almost a quarter would be "a little disappointed", but could understand the move. Only three percent of respondents admitted to being "angry" because they found the sale to be selfish, or "shocked" because they had planned the property as financial security.

Almost half have not yet reached an agreement

According to the survey, almost half of the respondents have not yet reached an agreement with their parents about their property. Almost one in ten of them said that it was a taboo subject because of the potential for conflict.

On the other hand, more than a third of the respondents already have an agreement with their parents and would inherit the property - sometimes together with their siblings.

House prices are rising much faster than rents

You could benefit, because as the residential index of the research company F + B recently showed, the dream of owning your own house is becoming more expensive during the corona crisis. Compared to the previous quarter and the previous year, the prices for single and two-family houses as well as condominiums rose significantly more than rents from April to June.

House prices rose the most, by 2.9 percent compared to the previous quarter and year-on-year by a whopping nine percent. The rents, which have hardly risen on average in the past two years, increased by only 0.4 percent compared to the previous quarter and by one percent year-on-year.