When you're talking 2011's investment hotspots, they don't come much more iron-clad than Germany. The northern European economy seems to just keep on powering away, supporting its floundering siblings Spain and Portugal and acting as a one-man insurance policy against the collapse of the euro. Yet despite its robust economy, Germany is yet to have a significant property boom in recent history – but experts now predict this could be the year.
"For security-oriented investors, Germany is more attractive because it's less volatile", property analyst Tobias Just of Deustche Bank told UAE newspaper The National. "The German market is benefiting from the strong economy, low interest rates and a low number of completions, which has made supply scarce".
Just predicts a modest 2 percent rise in residential property prices across the nation's major cities this year, though sales trends from 2010 would seem to indicate an even bigger jump in values. According to Hamburg-based brokers Dahler & Company, luxury apartments and houses saw a massive sales increase year-on-year from 2009 to 2010. Sales of stand-alone houses valued at 2 000 000 euros or more increased by 31%, while luxury apartments value up to 2 000 000 euros increased by a huge 108%.
Meanwhile, after a swathe of property advisers urged commercial investors to look to Germany, prices are rising in the industrial/office sector too. Excess demand means there are now more buyers in the German commercial property sector than renters – in 2010, foreigners spent 7 000 000 000 euros in the German commercial property market, or 36% of the total spend in the market. While this means rental yields are expected to fall, it also means values for office premises will keep on rising as more investors make their way to the market.
Source: http://www.allvoices.com/news/8617339-market-expert-predicts-german-property-price-surge