BBU market monitor 2015: Berlin growing, 300,000 apartments needed by 2030

The BBU, the association of Berlin-Brandenburg housing companies, has presented its annual market monitor. BBU board member Maren Kern is direct: Berlin is growing fast, and that poses major tasks for the capital and Brandenburg alike.

Four million residents by 2030?

Population forecasts have been revised upward again. The Berlin Senate and BBU estimate the city could grow from just under 3.5 million to four million residents by 2030. Meeting that demand would require around 300,000 new apartments, roughly 100,000 of them by 2020. That would mean doubling current completion rates.

BBU rents well below market level

The average net cold rent across BBU member portfolios was EUR 5.43 per sqm in 2014, up 2.5 percent year on year. Berlin's official rent index stood at EUR 5.84 per sqm over the same period. On the open market, asking rents reached EUR 9.01 per sqm, about 66 percent above the BBU level. Kern describes member companies as a "stability anchor for a growing Berlin."

Inflow to the centre, suburbs underutilised

Population growth is concentrated in the inner city boroughs. In Mitte and Neukoelln in particular, demand far exceeds supply. The BBU therefore calls for better connections between Berlin and its surrounding areas. Compared with other German metropolitan regions, the potential of Berlin's suburban belt remains underused.

"A culture of welcoming growth"

Kern demands an agenda that actively accompanies the city's growth. Without a visible expansion of housing construction and urban infrastructure, the coming challenges cannot be met. "We would actually need to double today's completion figures," Kern said.