Germany Ranking No.1 in Property Investment in Europe

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Germany revealed as top property investment prospect in European real estate markets

Germany is the best country in Europe right now for property investors, especially those seeking long term prospects, according to an annual European survey.

It is revealed as the top prospect followed by Italy, France and the Benelux countries according to the annual survey of the state of real estate markets.

Spain, Ireland, Hungary and Portugal are more risky, according to the European Property Market Relative Attractiveness report from Invista Real Estate Investment Management.

It ranks countries in Europe according to risk adjusted performance prospects over the next five years.

Germany moved up from seventh place last year knocking the UK market off its first place ranking. Italy came second moving up from 11th place. The Netherlands stayed in third place, while Belgium moved up four places from eighth place last year. France dropped one place from fourth place last year.

The biggest fall in performance was in Ireland which dropped 10 places from fifth to 15th place as investors anticipate an exaggerated slowdown in economic growth in the country over the next five years.

Finland dropped six places from 6th to 12th while the UK, which was first last year, came in at sixth place. Spain retained the same ranking at 10th place but Invista said it expected its economic growth to slow down in the coming years.

Germany and Italy are regarded as good prospects because of their diversified investment opportunities and also returns can be enhanced over the medium term through active asset management.
Poorer performers were the smaller less liquid property markets, such as Portugal, the Czech Republic and Hungary, which fell in the rankings with higher levels of expected pricing volatility.

Invista said the changes to the rankings reflect higher economic and capital markets related risk created by the global credit crunch. It said investors are re-assessing their attitudes towards property pricing and risk but should look beyond volatile short term data and take a medium term view of market performance.

'The global economic events of the last 12 months have forced investors to reassess their attitudes towards property risk and pricing. Our research indicates which markets are expected to fare better over the medium term, and in our opinion, low-beta markets are better positioned to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns,' said Tim Francis, head of continental European research at Invista.

'Despite recent weak economic data, we believe the German property market should consolidate its position as a key investment target for diversified investors,' he added.

Germany Ranking No.1 in Property Investment in Europe

Good news from the German Labour Market

In August 2008 the unemployment rate has dropped further by another 0.1%. The development is robust despite the slow down in economic growth in the Euro region. The tendency is expected to grow stronger once the summer holiday season is over and business is back in full swing.

The German unemployment rate is still higher than the average in the Euro-Zone but the positive development is supported by the need for qualified workers and a strong performance in the export industries.

For detailed statistical data also see "Bundesagentur für Arbeit".

For the German Property Market this means that the most important player in the residential market, the tenants, are moving into a better position to afford rent increases and new and better apartments.

Good news from the German Labour Market

Six Berlin Housing Projects Declared World Heritage Sites

UNESCO has included 6 Berlin housing estates in its World Heritage List. The projects were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They had model model character for social housing with vastly improved living conditions for tenants at the low end of the income scale.

The ideas had impact on the development of social housing in many other coutries.

Avant-garde architects like Bruno Taut, Martin Wagner, Walter Gropius and Hans Scharoun were building some of the world's first modern apartments with kitchens, bathrooms, balconies and sufficient windows to provide light and fresh air.

More details at DW - World, Deutsche Welle

Some of these apartments are available for property investors. To get listings and detailed information please refer to Properties in Berlin

Six Berlin Housing Projects Declared World Heritage Sites

German Unemployment further reduced in April 2008

Despite worries about how the global credit crisis and strong Euro might affect its economy, Germany's unemployment rate sank to 8.1 percent in April, down from 8.4 percent in March. The new government figures, which were announced Wednesday (30.04.), represent 94,000 fewer people out of work.

Together with wide spread wage increases this is one of the key factors that actually make the increases in rent feasible which were held back for a long period.

German Unemployment further reduced in April 2008

Turkish property sales to foreigners temporarily halted

Hurriyet English with wires, Wednesday, April 16, 2008 21:54

Turkish property sales to foreigners is to be temporarily halted from Wednesday, declared a Ministry of Public Works and Settlement inline with a Constitutional Court ruling three months ago. A new regulation was delivered to the Board of Ministers for approval. (UPDATED)

A new regulation regarding the sale of Turkish property to foreigners was delivered to the Board of Ministers for approval on Wednesday.

According to information obtained from ministry's officials, a circular letter on Tuesday was sent to all land registry offices indicating the end of the sale of real estate to foreigners.

The related verdict of the Constitutional Court will come into effect from Wednesday.

The law does not restrict foreigners who already own property in Turkey from selling it to Turkish Citizens.

A total of 63,085 properties have so far been sold to 73,103 foreigners, with German, British, and Greek citizens being the leading purchasers of Turkish property.

Foreign investors’ annual real estate purchases amounted to $3 billion for the past three years, accounting for about 8.5% of the current account deficit.

"We believe that the government will take this issue seriously and is likely to pass the necesssary legislation through the parliament. However, the timing remains uncertain and the impact on the financing of the current account deficit should be negative in the near term," Raymond James Financial said in a research report on Wednesday.

Turkish property sales to foreigners temporarily halted

Net Yield 11.62% Residential Investment in Thuringia(Germany), 1.6 Mio. Euros

2 Apartment blocks, 43 (out of 64 condominuims / apartments) and 20 apartments completely. A 1972 building modernised in 1997. near the A9 autobahn and the cities Gera and Jena.
Net rent 185,927 Euro (currently 5 apartments vacant). New price 1,600,000, net yield 11.62% (440 Euro/sqm)

Please order detailed in formation at www.properties-in-germany.de

Net Yield 11.62% Residential Investment in Thuringia(Germany), 1.6 Mio. Euros

German Jobless Falls to 15 1/2-Year Low

German Jobless Falls to 15 1/2-Year Low; Italy Slows (Update1)

By John Fraher

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- German unemployment fell to the lowest since 1992 in March and manufacturing accelerated as Europe's largest economy helped the region cope with a global credit squeeze and weaker growth in Italy and Spain.

Germany's jobless rate declined to 7.8 percent from 8 percent in February, the Federal Labor Agency said today, and a Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc index of German manufacturing rose to 55.1 this month from 54.3. Italian manufacturing contracted for the first time in three years and an index of Spanish factory activity was the weakest since December 2001.

German exports and corporate investment are helping to shore up growth across Europe as Italian manufacturers struggle to cope with a stronger euro and falling property prices curb growth in Spain. ...

Property Slump

``Germany and other northern European countries continue to see surprisingly strong performance in the face of current headwinds, while Mediterranean countries show a continuation of a worrying downtrend, especially Spain,''' said Royal Bank of Scotland chief euro-region economist Jacques Cailloux in an e- mailed note.

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Commentary

In the current situation with the aftermath of the subprime crisis originating in the US it seems a blessing that the German property market was not part of the property bubble of the last decade. There is solid development and opportunity for lucrative investment. The latest mega deal of Lone Star buying a portfolio of 1,300 properties from Deutsche Post shows the confidence of the financial sector in the German real estate market.

There are investments available at all levels. From a Buy to Let Investment Apartment at 40,000 Euro to apartment blocks between 600,000 Euro and 1.5 million Euro to mega deals.

Some of these you can find at www.Properties-in-Germany.de

Uwe Falkenberg

German Jobless Falls to 15 1/2-Year Low