Berlin Properties Moabit 2023

Moabit: A Little Giant

The central urban location between major waterways contributed to Moabit's industrial flourish in the past, leading primarily to the settlement of workers in the area. As a result of industrialization, the population surged from 10,000 in 1858 to 93,000 by 1890. The district evolved into a densely populated area for both work and residence. People lived in cramped spaces under precarious living conditions. During the Nazi era, the "Rote Insel" was marked by resistance against the regime and street battles between communist workers and the SA's assault squads. In November 1943, the Beusselkiez area was partially destroyed by bombing raids, and in the final days of the war, nearly two-thirds of the apartments were lost to street fighting. With the reunification, Moabit once again became central to Berlin. For years, Moabit was characterized by its relatively low real estate prices compared to the rest of Berlin. Today, many regret not realizing this sooner, as property prices have since caught up, especially with developments along Heidestraße and in Europacity. Although current metrics are now close to the Berlin median, the interest in Moabit's real estate hasn't waned in the slightest. In the coming years, Moabit's prices are expected to approach those of Berlin's prime locations.

Property prices Moabit

With approximately 45,000 apartments, the housing inventory in Moabit is limited. Purchase prices significantly depend on the specific micro-location. From 2012 to 2022, 7,681 apartments were converted, which, in proportion to the existing stock, is quite a lot. This can be explained by the highly attractive locations close to the city center and the dynamic development along Heidestraße and around the central train station. Currently, condominiums in Moabit are priced at 5,210 EUR/m². Recently, the demand for prices has shown a slow down. Due to changes in the interest rate environment, there has been a slight dip of -3.90 % compared to the previous year. Over nine months, the development is -2.20 %, over six months it's -2.80 %, and for the three-month period, it's 1.60 %. 860 purchasing offers were listed on portals in 12 months.

The new construction segment in Moabit has recently been a micro-segment. Only 30 apartments from new construction projects were offered in 12 months. The listing price for newly built apartments is currently on average at about 8,680 EUR/m². Twelve months ago, it was 10,560 EUR/m², resulting in a price adjustment of approximately -17.80 % over this period.

Development of property price segments in Berlin Moabit

Moabit is a quantitatively very small and locally limited housing market. Contrary to the trend in other districts, the number of apartments on offer has been growing since 2019.  

Bird's eye view: Property Listings in Berlin Moabit

The bird's eye view shows a heterogeneous property mix in Berlin-Moabit across all construction year classes, with the exception of new construction. 

Trend

In the larger urban context, Mitte, Tiergarten and Moabit are steadily growing together. Former Wall wastelands have long since become modern neighborhoods that are developing strong centrifugal forces on the Moabit side on Lehrter Strasse (over 1,000 rental and owner-occupied apartments) and over Europacity, north of the Central Station. The future is marked out in this way. An international rental clientele from the offices along Heidestraße is a guarantee for rental demand far into the future. Momentum is also being generated by the redevelopment area around Turmstrasse, which has been in place since 2011, and the "Active Centers" development initiative.  A former large brewery was turned into the Schultheiss Quarter, with the aim of strengthening the small-scale store structure on Turmstrasse. To the north, Moabit borders on the Westhafen with large employers. Here, the neighborhood is still characterized by industry. The industrial and commercial land reserves in Moabit will remain a relevant growth factor for the capital in the coming decades.

Despite the current sideways movement, real estate in Moabit is therefore not only a safe investment, but also promises high annual growth rates again in the future. 

Apartment buildings in Moabit

Although Moabit meets all the criteria of a sought-after location, this district long remained off buyers' wish lists. The roughly 50,000 apartments in Moabit are spread across 3,000 apartment buildings. The statistical household size is 1.7 persons, but in reality about 1.9 persons live in each household. The high demand is felt especially in the trendy neighborhoods such as Stephankiez, Huttenkiez and Zwinglistraße. The housing deficit is at least 5,000 units and growing. The destruction during WW2 hit industrial Moabit and the adjacent residential areas particularly hard, which explains the high postwar building stock. Only about half of the buildings are historic structures. New energy requirements are currently weighing on the post-war stock, making the price range narrower than in other districts. Very few residential buildings have been sold in Moabit so far in 2023. The values given below by the Berlin Valuation Committee refer to the so-called value-relevant floor area, which is close to the gross floor area. The conversion factor to living space is around 1.3.   

Projects in Moabit

Few districts have experienced such fundamental changes in such a short time as Moabit and Tiergarten. The separation between the two districts is not easy; they merge smoothly. The development of both neighborhoods was shaped by the new Berlin Central Station and the nearby government district, but it started late. This was due to the long urban planning phase on the one hand, and the project planning itself on the other.  

Starting in 2014, there was already an increase in small-scale activities throughout the district. These related more to smaller redensification and redevelopment projects. Starting in 2017, the first construction pits were excavated in the Heidestraße neighborhood. Since then, over 3,000 apartments have been built in the surroundings of Berlin's main train station. The projects are voluminous, typical of the location, and are concentrated along two axes running north of the main station, to the left and right of the Bahnstrasse. The Europacity, by which the new mega city district north of the station is known, consists of a large number of building sites on an area of about 40 hectares. The main player is CA Immo, which has sold various construction sites to other project developers and investors or is developing them in joint ventures.

Since the construction sites are planned and built individually, the sums spent are usually in the range of 40 to just over 100 million euros. Some construction sites have already been completed, others are approaching completion. The Riverside / Wasserstadt subproject at Heidestraße 2 is a mix of apartments, office, retail and gastronomy. The urban mix of uses is a project by Adler Group investors. On the other side of the Bahnstrasse, the Groth Group has built a new urban quarter on 4 hectares opposite the sports stadium with an investment of over 250 million euros. The approximately 700 apartments are a mix of rental and owner-occupied apartments, student housing and occasional commercial space. The 18-story Fritz Tower sets an urban accent. In general, the building height in Moabit is less dogmatically linked to the eaves height by Berlin standards than in other neighborhoods. Still in the discussion and concept phase is another high-rise tower by CA Immo, with the renowned architects of Herzog & de Meuron, and already under construction is an office tower opposite the main train station, with KPMG already confirmed as the future tenant. 

But Moabit is much more than just Europacity, and the development is also spreading to less glamorous neighborhoods. Locations such as Beusselstrasse, formerly a rather dingy transit location in the direction of industrial plants, Tegel Airport and the autobahn, are becoming more and more interesting. The centrality, the proximity to departments of the Technical University and to the urban recreation areas in Tiergarten, make the quarters around Beusselstrasse an interesting, affordable point for tenants and owners. A great deal has already been achieved for the structure in Beusselstrasse. Currently, various small-volume residential buildings are being constructed in the area between Rathenower Strasse, Stromstrasse and Beusselstrasse, including non-profit projects. 

Neighbourhoods in Berlin Moabit

The most popular micro locations within Moabit are architecturally characterized by attractive old buildings and calm residential streets with 30 km/h zones, cafés and restaurants. Among them is the Stephankiez. Here you can find houses from the Wilhelminian period (Gründerzeit) with very attractive stucco facades, most of which have now been restored. About 90 percent of the historical building substance is still present here. The classic Moabit from the time before the district reform and the integration into the district Mitte, consists of the quarters Huttenkiez, Beusselkiez, Westhafen, Emdener Straße, Zwinglistraße, Elberfelder Straße, Stephankiez, Heidestraße, Lübecker Straße, Thomasiusstraße, Zillesiedlung and Lüneburger Straße.

Rental market in Berlin Moabit

The development of rents in Moabit shows a development of 22.20 % over the 12-month period. This revises recent price exaggerations. On the open market, flats are offered on average at prices per square metre of 20.35 EUR/m². In total, 960 properties were offered for rent, not including the offers of the municipal housing associations. The number of cases in Moabit is relatively low due to the small property inventory. Many flats have been rented for decades and must be extensively refurbished before they can be re-rented. Overall, the district is developing into a high-quality location, not only geographically.

SnapshotBird's eye view: Asking rents in Berlin Moabit

The Bubble Chart shows the supply situation of the last 12 months for the property market in Moabit. The colors indicate the year of construction classes, the size of the bubbles the quantity of offers, the location in the coordinate system the price radius (square meters) and apartment sizes. The various price segments and construction years in the Moabit rental market are clearly visible. Rents above 15 EUR/m² are mainly located in newly constructed properties. Small apartments are well represented.

Rent segments

All price segments are present in Moabit. The offers in the segment from 5 - 8 EUR/m² are decreasing. At the same time, the number of housing offers is rising above 14 EUR/m². The medium price segments are largely stable.

Building activity in Moabit

The suburb Moabit is located in the administrative district Berlin Mitte and has a manageable property stock of 46.000 apartments, spread over 13 statistical planning areas LOR (Lebensweltlich orientierte Räume). At an average apartment size of 67.4 m² and a statistical household size of 1.64 persons per household, Moabit is in the lower range. In terms of figures, the household size is 1.83 persons per household.

The construction activity in Moabit increased significantly in 2018. Almost twice as many apartments were built in 2018 as in the previous 7 years combined. When and in which quarters (LOR) construction completions were reported, can be seen from the map. (Source: Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg)

Milieu protection

In Moabit there are currently three milieu protection areas.

Milieu protection map Moabit

Check in our milieu protection map Berlin whether your property is located in a protection area, an investigation area or a suspected area. Our milieu protection map is continuously revised and updated on basis of the resolutions of the district assemblies (BVV). Please also visit our milieu protection area for further information.

General background

"Moabit is the best," the Moabites say about their neighborhood. In fact, the population mix is a cut through the middle of society. The figures show that Moabit is not a single-person district, despite the typically high number of one-person households in Berlin. Taken together, almost 50,000 people live in 2-, 3- and 4-person households. With an average apartment size of 68 m², the apartments are rather in the lower average range in Berlin comparison. The proportion of the population aged between 27 and 45 is high, while the proportion of those over 65 is relatively low. Milieu protected areas were introduced in the Waldstrasse, Birkenstrasse and Thomasiusstrasse areas. The ownership rate in the district is traditionally low. The central location, an environment worth living in, the mostly very good connections and, last but not least, the qualities of the location, which result, among other things, from small-scale old building quarters and neighbourhoods, make long-term investments in Moabit interesting.

Migration

About 32 percent of the population living in Moabit comes from the international area. While migration balances have been negative internally for some years now, immigration from Germany and abroad is on the increase. When looking at the top 10 international migrations, the overall situation is reflected in Moabit. The top 4 immigration countries in the time series from 2013 to 2017 are Poland, Syria, Bulgaria and Italy. Immigration from Syria as a result of the war conflict ended in 2017. Sustainable migration takes place from the classical states of Western Europe and South-Eastern Europe. From the federal territory, the number of migrations follows the proportions of the federal states. In the suburban context, a negative tendency can be observed, with a focus on Potsdam, Havelland and Oberhavel. Internally, Moabit loses residents to other districts between 2013 and 2017.