Some of the cheapest housing of any major European city is attracting a wave of foreign buyers to the German capital, promising a new property boom after a false start after the fall of the Berlin Wall nearly 20 years ago.
Buyers from Britain, Scandinavia, Ireland and the US are leading the rush to snap up apartments in the once-divided city, making the 12 months up to last November the busiest on the property market since World War II, estate agents say.
Foreigners were responsible for 70 percent of the transactions, the German federation of estate agents said, with Danes spearheading the march. The interest is so high that Danish estate agents have opened offices in the city.
One Danish agent, Esben Tjalvi, said Danes found the prices too good to resist: "At 1,500 to 2,000 euros [US$2,200 to US$2,950] per square meter, it's up to four times cheaper than in Copenhagen and Stockholm," Tjalvi said.
But private buyers alone do not account for the eye-popping 28 percent rise in turnover in the first half of last year -- that is thanks to the muscular presence of investment funds that are snapping up dozens of apartment blocks.
Cerberus Capital Management and Goldman Sachs' Whitehall fund have invested 2.1 billion euros since 2004.
"In Berlin, the price per square meter is one of the cheapest of any major city in Europe, including those in eastern Europe," said Andrea Magnoni, the Italian cofounder of the Valore fund.
"The return for investors is higher than anywhere else at between 7 and 8 percent compared to 3.5 percent in Milan because even if the rents are moderate the purchase prices are always low enough to guarantee a good rate," he said.
Investors are speculating on rents rising.
The influx of investors to Berlin is having a marked effect on the landscape of the city.
Whole streets are being renovated without the city authorities having to dig into their already massively stretched finances. The decrepit apartments with coal-fired heating and toilets on the landing are disappearing and new shops are opening.
This in turn is creating jobs, not only in the property sector but also in the building trade.
But Berliners fear that the property boom is threatening to change the character of a city that has an alternative feel.
The once rare occurrence of tenants forced to leave so that the owner can raise rents is now becoming more common, some say.
Meanwhile, luxury apartments are mushrooming, with prices well beyond the reach of most residents in a city where 11 percent of the population is unemployed and thousands of students and hard-up artists make their home.
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers