Insurance News Archive

Property investors 'should have great confidence' in east Berlin

Investors looking for a European location which can offer rising rents and an established market have been advised to consider east Berlin.

The former Soviet portion of the German capital has undergone significant renovation work since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, with the east finally approaching the prosperity of the west of the city.

And this continued investment in the Berlin market is still providing opportunities for investors, according to Denis Madden, managing director of the German Property Centre.

"We're seeing investors at different levels: from investors buying an individual apartment in an apartment block, possibly already pre-let, to an investor buying a block of apartments," he said.

"You're not buying into a bubble, you're buying at the early signs of recovery of the German market and increased confidence here in the local economy."

However, he added a few words of caution that the old rule of location, location, location still applies as there remains districts in the eastern half of city which still contain unattractive properties.

This follows advice from Anna Grybel, a property market researcher for Property Secrets, who told landlords to be aware that there are higher protections for tenants in Germany and so the market is not ideally set up for investors to make a quick profit.

28 Aug 2007