The Hamburg brokerage company Engel & Völkers, which operates in a good 30 countries, reports that in 2021 it brokered almost twice as many properties (up 97 percent) in the price segment between five and ten million euros compared to the first year of the crisis, 2020.
“We have a significantly higher demand, especially for premium properties from two million euros,” says Ralph Kunz, Director of Premium Management at “von Poll Immobilien” in Frankfurt. When it comes to top prices, the location and the degree of privacy are particularly important. “Here the prices sometimes go into the double-digit million range for detached houses and villas in top locations.”
This is confirmed by an expert who does not broker any real estate himself: “We have a very, very strong market for luxury real estate,” says Stephan Kippes, the market researcher at the real estate association IVD Süd in Munich. Kippes sees a factor at work that has been driving the real estate market for years: permanently low and penalty interest rates make many other investments unprofitable. “This money wafts through the market,” says Kippes.
Expensive residences are often not intended as a pure capital investment. “Holiday apartments and luxury properties are often used by people themselves,” says Kippes. “You treat yourself to it and then you still have the effect of increasing the value.”
Prices vary greatly from country to country. “While the top prices in the premium segment in Hamburg, for example, reach up to 30,000 euros per square meter and thus tie in with the international level of Paris with 35,000 euros per square meter, the prices in Italy are at the top at 9,000 euros,” reports Engel & Völkers CEO Sven Odia.
Rich Germans, Swiss and Austrians go in search of holiday regions outside their own borders, especially in the Mediterranean region. “In Greece, most buyers come from the DACH region, followed by interested parties from France and Great Britain,” says Odia. In Mallorca, therefore, the majority of foreign “search customers” come from Germany – 66 percent. The British follow at a great distance with nine percent.
The border blurs
Corona is now also blurring the line between first and second homes: “Real estate in second home markets is in demand like never before,” says Odia. “Particularly in the luxury segment, as a result of the corona pandemic, we are observing the trend towards working from home at a second home.”
Many customers are now spending more time at their second homes and no longer only see them as an investment property or as a second home for a few weeks a year. “Thus, classic second home markets and Mediterranean holiday destinations are increasingly becoming primary home markets.”
The prerequisites are a good infrastructure and fast internet, as Kunz reports. High inflation also plays a role. “Especially investors and wealthy customers operate against inflation by buying real estate,” says Kunz.
Source: Nachrichten
