The property market in Germany offers a colourful mix of good deals and is once again arousing curiosity. However, many prospective buyers are still on hold and undecided. What do the experts say?
The mood on the property market is reflected in the current negative figures: from January to May 2024, 71,400 new flats were approved, which is 24.0 per cent or 22,600 flats less than in the same period last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Trade in residential building plots ready for construction has declined significantly. According to the Gewos real estate market analysis, there were 46,700 purchase cases nationwide in 2023, 34.2 per cent fewer than in 2022. The number of new residential project launches in the past quarter was 75 per cent below the previous peak, reports Bulwiengesa CEO Felix Embacher in the current project developer study for the first half of 2024.
Against the backdrop of these negative figures, a mood of optimism has not yet materialised. Even Stiftung Warentest points out that purchase prices for houses and flats in Germany are barely falling. The experts even expect a slight increase for the current year. Stiftung Warentest has analysed all 400 German cities and districts to determine whether a purchase is worthwhile in view of ever higher rents. Purchase prices for residential property fell by an average of 8.6 per cent from their peak in mid-2022 to the beginning of 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, they fell by just 0.2 per cent.
The European housing market is set for significant growth until 2040, reports one of the world's largest property consultancies: Based on a study, Cushman & Wakefield assumes that demand for different forms of housing will continue to rise in line with far-reaching demographic changes and specific influencing factors such as affordability, urbanisation, an ageing population and higher levels of educational participation.
Conclusion: So what should prospective buyers wait for now? There could hardly be a more favourable time to buy a property.
Photo: © Guillermo Gavilla, Pixabay
