Berlin: Rents are going up twice as fast as consumer prices.

Berlin is facing a shortage in housing, consequently the rents are going up. What could be the solution? Again public construction? Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that the Senate demolished housing blocks? Now they could be used again. At least investors are happy. They can choose from a - sometimes long - list of applicants for a flat in the center of Berlin. What will happen to those living from welfare? Will they not find a place anymore? At least, this is sure, not in the center. 

In many other cities this is

Who will be affected by the future airport of Berlin (Schönefeld)?

Three times as many landings as before will be the scenario the residents around Schönefeld will have to adopt to. But also Berlin will notice it. The following graphic had been published by Berliner Morgenpost Online on 10 September 2010

On Monday, the German Air Traffic Control Commission (DFS) presented for the first time the future noise impact to the mayors of the municipalities bordering Schönefeld. Adjustments of the routes are still possible. The opening of the new airport is now scheduled for 3 June 2012. After the meeting, it is clear that the routes will be over the center of Berlin. This is new to most Berliners.

Berlin Insider Tip: Französisch-Buchholz

Properties in Berlin are becoming increasingly popular. On the northern outskirts of the capital French-Buchholz, part of Pankow, has become a popular residential area. Several thousand new homes in Berlin were created here, much of which are townhouses in looser construction, with spacious green areas with plenty of space for children.

French-Buchholz is also attractive due to

Green Buildings: European investors focus on sustainability

The sustainable redevelopment is becoming more important and also the new development of "Green Buildings" stands for European property investors, high on the agenda. This is the result of the study "real estate investment in Europe" by Union Investment.

 

Sustainable building is all the rage - Thus, in addition to the redevelopment of the so-called "Green Buildings" is now also the sustainable redevelopment of the property portfolio to gain in importance. At least that's according to a study by Union Investment, the fund provider of the population and Raiffeisen beacons, the views of European property investors. In the context of "real estate investments in Europe" 185 real estate companies and institutional investors in Germany, France and Britain were questioned by market research firm Ipsos.

Basic Information about Bankruptcy

by: Justin Baxter

 

Deciding whether to file bankruptcy is a very serious decision. The majority of bankruptcies are precipitated by circumstances outside a person's control -- loss of a job, divorce, or significant illness. A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine concluded that 62.1 percent of the bankruptcies were medically related because the individuals either had more than $5,000 or 10 percent of their pretax income in medical bills, mortgaged their home to pay for medical bills, or lost significant income due to an illness. On average, medically bankrupt families had $17,943 in out-of-pocket expenses, including $26,971 for those who lacked insurance and $17,749 who had insurance at some point. The stress of these events is compounded by collection letters and calls, and the fear of losing a home to foreclosure.

Berlin airport BBI is about to take off...

The new Berlin airport BBI is gathering pace. The magic deadline is 30 October 2011. Lufthansa, like others, is already preparing the big move. For them it is more than a new destination; Lufthansa plans to make Berlin its future hub. The new winter schedule reflects these plans: 3 new destination that until October 2011 will leave from Berlin-Tegel: Dubai, Miami, Mombasa.

Green Buildings Are Becoming Fashionable

In the land of Hesse municipalities signed an agreement that they would elaborate an action plan to reduce CO2 emmissions and to report regularly on results. It is evident that a lower consumption of energy saves money, but first, the municipalities have to invest and many do not have a budget for this. Why do they make an effort anyway? It is very simple: if you can proof that you have been working on a reduction of emissions, with positive results, you have access to more subsidies from the Government and the EU. The goal is to team up with100 municipalities, so far 55 are on board. Here is the list.

The municipalities want to refurbish residential blocks and public buildings to reduce CO2 emissions. Frankfurt also signed the agreement in 2009. Until 2025 the reducion of CO2 emissions could come to 41%, a huge potential. 

But green buildings are on the list of the European Union already, this is not only a German initiative. On 16 April the European Union awarded the best green buildings.  The prize is for architects that have developed buildings that are ahead of their time. 13 buildings have been awarded in 4 different categories.

More about the Green European Building Programme you can find here.

FM has become a key industry in Germany

At the beginning of the year the first industry report had been published and Germany is still discussing the – even for insiders – astoundingly good news: facility management contributes more to the GNP than any other industry; more than the automobile or chemical industry.

The study had been carried out by the University of Bochum and Professor Markus Thomzik qualifies the FM industry as an important backbone of the German economy, though the figures have been calculated in a really conservative way. The study stressed on the importance for the economic growth rate, while another positive point was left aside: According to the report 4.1 million workers can be appointed to the FM industry. About 3.1 million workers are directly working within the FM service industry, but still another 1.1 million get their salary from it: lawyers, consultants, architects, IT experts, etc.

Now the industry has proof that it is not wise to keep ignoring them.

Still much potential for new shopping centers

This article is based on information that had been researched by Bulwien Gesa.

In 2009 noboy wanted to hear about retail investments. After a strong 2007 and a moderate 2008, the year 2009 can be considered loss-making. According to Bulwien Gesa all this could change for the better in 2010 with many foreign investors leading the group of potential investors. Recently also the Deutsche Bank Think Tank mentioned that Germany is the only country where the real estate market is not very much affected by the crisis and where the risk is more manageable than in its neighbor countries (this was actually about residential investments, but still shows the difference in the EU). Investors who purchased properties with long contracts have not much to fear in 2010 as only a few contracts will expire this year.

Properties: Should I Buy From Forced Auctions? How?

In this article I am summarizing the pros and cons of buying properties in Germany through an auction. I am talking about forced auctions held by the courts.

The How-To is here: http://bit.ly/bBpwgU

The pros of an auction:

• No commission is involved, unless you want a broker or consultancy to help you with the assessment of the information that you might want to gather before you go for the property.
• The court always provides for free you with a valuation that had been done by an independant architect. Normally you have to pay for this paper.
• In most cases the property will be handed over with a clean land register. Exceptions are very special cases that are mentioned in the documentation the court can provide you with.
• You are entitled to the income of the property as of the day of the auction. 
• Commercial leases can be cancelled within 4 weeks after the auction (not residential leases!!). 

The cons:

• Many times you might not be able to visit the property from inside since the owner or creditor does not offer this. They are not legally obliged to show you around.
• If the former owner resists the hand-over of the property, though he legally cannot do so, you might face a lot work for some time.
• Nobody assumes any liability for the property regarding damages etc.

If you need help, do not hesitate to contact FIS: hello@fis24.net

Germany: What is the future of residential investments in the next years?

German brokers are expecting foreign investors to come back to Germany because they need cash-flow in stable markets.  Office and retail properties gave a much better yield than residential investments, but their share is only 10% in the German market. These figures were given by Bulwien Gesa, a German market intelligence company. The opportunities to change for another type of property are relatively small and also the banks are only interested in financing stable investments, which in Germany is residential. Bulwien Gesa remarks that they see the residential market of 2010 like in 2004, with the potential of developing a new bubble. The prices might rise when foreign investors will sell what they bought in the last years with short term finance. Small and bigger portfolios that many investors are looking for will come back to the market.

Berlin: new resi project where once the Nazis surrendered and the KGB ruled

Berlin-Karlshorst was established in the late 19th century as garden-city of Berlin, in the North-East of the city. After the WW II it has long been the place only known for the unconditional surrender of the Deutsche Wehrmacht.

After that the KGB took the caserne as their HQ in Eastern Germany. When in 1994 the Russian Allies left Eastern Germany, the premises were partially converted into the German-Russian Museum.

German government still in Bonn. When will they move (and cut costs)?

The social democratic party (SPD) is claiming a final date when the rest of the government will move from Bonn to Berlin. It sounds impossible to understand why 20 years after the fall of the wall, in the 20th year of reunification there are as many civil servants and government employees in Berlin as in Bonn. Does the German population actually know? Apparently not. The subject came up when somebody in the Bundestag had a closer look on the list of government spending.

Berlin: Airport fees will be decisive for the success of new airport

According to Mr. Hunold, CEO of AirBerlin - Germany's Nr. 2 airline - the new airport BBI should not charge more than what they are paying now. A big increase would not be affordable for the airlines and Berlin would be the only location where AirBerlin is actually growing. He adds that the fees for airlines will directly influence the success of the multi-billion-euro investment.

The airport company offered the airlines to work together on the new fee structure. It is less a question of cost than of politics. The region itself still does not produce a big demand, but foreign tourists love Berlin and are the most important factor behind the growth of AirBerlin. The location of Berlin is for Hunold perfect when it comes to route air traffic from the South or the East and North-East.

Berlin: District fights with snowballs

Berlin is the capital of pacifists. Nowhere else so many people go on the street to show their opinion. But what is this here??? It is known that once per year Kreuzbergers and Friedrichhainers (actually one district, formerly east and west) meet on the Oberbaum bridge to through tomatos at each other. No wonder that they got new ideas during this long winter with massive snow.

This really interesting article can be read here: 

Schneeballschlacht: Kreuzberg vs Neukölln from Adrian Pohr on Vimeo.

Lufthansa: BBI airport will not be our new hub / Still no solution for private jets

After asking yesterday "What will happen to Tegel Airport" , I saw another press release on the matter today. The supporters of the new airport BBI (Berlin-Brandenburg-International in Schönefeld, great Berlin area) are dreaming of an international hub, but Lufthansa made it very clear yesterday morning during a breakfast meeting of the chamber of commerce: they are delighted to expand their business at the new airport, but do not even think about using BBI as a new hub. There would be already Frankfurt and Munich, two economically powerful cities where the investment produces a return. Lufthansa say that at the moment Berlin is quite far away from a similar position.

Berlin: What will happen to Tegel Aiport when BBI opens in 2011?

Berliners remember very well when end of 2008 the last plane departed from Tempelhof airport. The idea is to make the new international (and former Eastern-Berliner airport) Schönefeld the sole commercial airport of Berlin. Tegel is still open, but Schönefeld is scheduled already for October 2011. What then? Another airport closing without concept for the time after? Another Tempelhof-like disaster?

International Cost of Living Index Rank 2010

Author: Steven Coleman

The January 2010 International Cost of Living Ranking covers 276 global locations across the world.

We have reported the 10 most expensive countries to live in, the 10 fastest movers up and down in ranking and the 10 most expensive locations per basket item.

Tokyo is still the most expensive place for an expatriate to live with the highest overall cost of living index while Tianjin in China takes over from Zimbabwe with the lowest cost of living index.

The 10 most expensive ranked international cost of living locations as at January 2010, together with the previous Quarter's rank as at October 2009, is as follows:

Bauhaus History - A Short Overview

I recently visited Tel Aviv since it is said to be the world largest collection of Bauhaus architeture. Once I had arrived, I had to realise that many buildings were not Bauhaus at all, though very beautiful. There are many buildings built from 1900 to 1940 that combine many different styles. It was evident that those were not Bauhaus. I always thought I knew how to recognize a Bauhaus building. But suddenly I got doubts.

It is definitely easier to recognize a Bauhaus building if you know the philosophy behind Bauhaus. Let's have a quick look at Bauhaus history.

CB Richard Ellis 2009 review and 2010 outlook for commmercial real estate in Europe (EU)

Published on 23 December 2009 by Europe Real Estate

Key commentary from CBRE’s forthcoming report – After the Storm: Where Next for European Property? The economic aftermath of the collapse of Lehman in September 2008 has been well documented and continues to unfold. Against a background of extreme uncertainty, investment decisions froze and most of the world’s major economies entered recession. Unemployment has risen sharply across Europe and is still rising; stock markets, asset prices and business and consumer confidence tumbled, and even now the flow of credit to businesses remains patchy.

Read more here

German Apartment portfolios: Transaction volume topped €3bn in 2009

The trade in German apartment portfolios is revving up again: a market report put out by Savills states that packages exchanged briskly in 2009, particularly in the second half. Accordingly, a total of 107 portfolios with some 56,000 residential units switched owners in 2009, 68 of them during the second half of the year. The transaction volume for the entire year is estimated at €3.2bn.

Read more at