Berlin's property market posted a record year in 2015. According to the Expert Committee for Property Values (Gutachterausschuss), total transaction volume across all segments reached 16.8 billion euros.
Sharp rise in apartment sales
Residential property drove the increase. The number of transactions for single and two-family homes as well as condominiums rose by 15 percent. Apartment sales alone climbed from 17,437 in 2014 to 20,141 in 2015, nearly 400 transactions per week. Transaction volume in this segment grew by 29 percent, from around 3.5 billion to over 4.5 billion euros.
The average transaction volume per apartment was 224,000 euros in 2015, up from 200,000 euros the year before. The Expert Committee notes, however, that these averages do not reflect actual price trends. Random shifts in the spatial distribution and quality of sold properties distort such comparisons.
Net cold rents up, ancillary costs down
The rental market also moved. According to the Statistical Office of Berlin-Brandenburg, net cold rents in February 2016 rose by an average of 1.6 percent year-on-year, slightly faster than in previous months (1.5 percent). At the same time, ancillary costs fell by 4.0 percent, mainly due to lower energy prices. Heating oil was 34.5 percent cheaper than a year earlier. As a result, gross warm rents rose by just 0.9 percent overall.
The market development shows that Berlin's apartment market was liquid in 2015, with strong demand on both the purchase and rental sides. In boroughs like Mitte, prices are likely to remain above the citywide average.
