Confusing real estate market

The real estate markets have become quieter. Since interest rates have risen, interest in buying has cooled noticeably. Property prices have fallen by almost seven percent compared to the previous year, reports the Federal Statistical Office. The IW Institute in Cologne recorded the lowest value for the real estate climate since 2014. The market is no longer a playground for amateurs. Owners willing to sell are therefore increasingly hiring real estate agents.

"In view of significantly more difficult financing conditions, the demand for purchase real estate has dropped significantly from the middle of last year 2022. While numerous property owners not infrequently carried out the sales process without the support of a qualified estate agent in recent years, when enormous demand pressure prevailed especially in prosperous regions, in the current buyer's market estate agents are increasingly being commissioned with the sales process," explains Prof. Stephan Kippes, Head of the IVD Market Research Institute.

In 2015, the broker market share, i.e. the share of houses or flats sold through a broker, was still 90.0 percent in the 16 federal states. In the following years, the share fell steadily and reached 74.4 percent in 2022. Very favourable financing conditions caused a boom in the residential property market with a very pronounced excess demand. The share of owners who tried to market their property themselves increased during this period.

The "Bestellerprinzip" (buyer's principle), which will apply to the purchase of residential property from the end of 2020, has reinforced this trend, because since then, with a few exceptions, a pure buyer's commission is no longer due. Sellers tried to market their properties themselves to save paying the commission.

Experts expect the supply of real estate to increase in the coming months. Some households have loan maturities coming up. But not everyone can or wants to afford follow-up financing at significantly more expensive conditions. Tens of thousands of euros are at stake here, which can be saved by acting skilfully. Professional real estate agents are able to accurately determine the fair market selling price of a property. Peter Talkenberger, owner of the brokerage firm AllGrund Immobilien GmbH in Dreieich, adds: "Getting this correctly determined price accepted on the market often requires patience and the power of persuasion. In order to do this, the real estate agent should be convinced of the price himself and not agree to an offer price that is clearly too high for the sake of the contract.

(Photo: © Aymanejed, Pixabay)