Berlin Properties Prenzlauer Berg 2023

The Trendsetter

Prenzlauer Berg was the first boom quarter of the German capital and plays a pioneering role. Nowhere in the early 1990s did so many people move in as here. However, it is wrong to talk about population exchange. Rather, it was an ongoing process of change that also affected many other quarters in Berlin after the fall of communism; a natural process because the city was no longer divided. In the context of the post-communist era, change and transformation were a cultural shock for many residents. Socialism turned to free economy, many rental apartments to ownership. In the 1980s Prenzlauer Berg bled out from the population. Most of the buildings and apartments had pre-war standards. Coal stove, outside toilets, no bathrooms. The GDR state was not interested in Prenzlauer Berg and relocated many people into the modern prefabricated housing estates in Marzahn and Hellersdorf. The consequence were thousands of empty flats in Prenzelberg and a massively eroded housing stock at the end of the century. The truth is that the house renovations from this time saved the stock from complete decay. With liveable houses the streetscape and the structure of inhabitants changed. The mixture was colourful: creative people, students, international visitors and many people with an unusually high purchasing power for Prenzlauer Berg. In more than 30 years since then, the street scene has evolved. Today in many quarters chic new and old buildings line the streets. The prices for old buildings came almost up to the new building prices. The proportion of academics in some neighborhoods today is up to 75 percent. 

Property prices in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The property market in Prenzlauer Berg is characterised by constant growth in prices and an equally constant decline in supply numbers. In the 12-month period, the price development in the existing property segment 2.80 % and in the new build segment 3.40 %, calculated from 160 offers from projects and attic / penthouse developments. The average asking list price is 6,820 EUR/m² in the housing stock. The average list price across all flat sizes in the new-build segment is 11,840 EUR/m².

Bird's eye view: Property Prices in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The Bubble Chart shows the supply situation of the last 12 months for the property market in Prenzlauer Berg. 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.

Development of property price segments in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The development of the purchase price segments shows a shortage of supply. Supply and demand are drifting further apart in Prenzlauer Berg than in other districts. There are no more properties on offer in the segment below 2,000 euros/m². Prenzlauer Berg is clearly becoming one of the most valuable locations in Berlin. 

Trend

The big changes in Prenzlauer Berg took place many years ago. While other districts were still just in their early stages, Prenzlauer Berg was already undergoing a profound transformation. The district, where East Berlin bohemians long aroused the distrust of the GDR state and state security, was politically abandoned to decay during the Wall era.

With the fall of the Wall the turn came. Hundreds of completely run-down apartment buildings were extensively renovated and quickly became the spearhead of East Berlin's new spirit of renewal. A local property boom followed, which also attracted many young families thanks to the building typology with large appartments. The young, trendy district soon became a large, established, middle-class neighbourhood. The heterogeneous real estate landscape of redeveloped housing stock and new buildings has shaped not only the streetscape but also the demographics over the past 30 years. Prenzlauer Berg is an established market, which in terms of price trends is unexciting but rising linearly. Anyone who owns a property in Prenzlauer Berg can count on excellent prospects and increases in value. 

Apartment buildings in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The district of Prenzlauer Berg has been part of Pankow since the administrative reform of 2001. In the north of Pankow, the development typology in Buch, Buchholz and Karow is characterised by skyscrapers and prefabricated buildings (Plattenbauten). In Prenzlauer Berg, to the south, the dominant cityscape is a mixture of Wilhelminian-era apartment buildings mixed with modern architecture. The building stock in Prenzlauer Berg is just over 7,100 units with about 100,000 flats. The housing typology makes Prenzlauer Berg a family district on the one hand (many large flats), on the other hand 39 per cent of households are one-person households. Three-room flats make up the largest share with about 37 per cent of the housing stock, followed by four-room flats. Only just under five per cent of the dwellings are one-bedroom flats.

Cash flow and yield: apartment blocks in Prenzlauer Berg

In Prenzlauer Berg, owners of apartment blocks are currently holding back on decisions to sell. This is probably less due to the fact that the actual notarised purchase prices have moved up and down from 2018 until 2022. Rather, many of the apartment buildings in Prenzlauer Berg are widely developed and guarantee cash flow and solid returns. With core sizes between 1,750 and 2,000 square metres of living space, the properties are larger than existing properties in other districts. There was a price dip in 2020, which has been overcome. Currently, the median is around EUR/m² 3,060 within a price range of EUR 1,653 until EUR 5,398/m². The upper end of the scale can be achieved with the right strategy (we advise you), in a good location and in adequate condition with professionally prepared documentation. In general, the more bourgeois and representative, the higher the market value of apartment blocks in Prenzlauer Berg.

New construction Prenzlauer Berg

Prenzlauer Berg offers many of the most popular residential locations in Berlin. The appeal of one of Germany's largest old Wilhelminian-style districts is particularly strong for a young, international and even class-conscious clientele. Families, on the other hand, appreciate the high density of schools, strong social communities and the vibrant daytime life in the numerous cafes in the neighborhoods. In the evening, when the bistros close their doors, hundreds of smaller and larger pubs and restaurants take over. Around 165,000 people live in an area of about eleven square kilometers, and after several waves of redevelopment and redensification, projects are now being developed on the few remaining vacant building sites that are priced in line with the top league. 

For example, the most expensive new construction project in Prenzlauer Berg in recent years was completed in Pappelallee in February 2021. In addition to a REWE and an underground garage with 70 parking spaces, 240 residential units have been developed and completed here.  

A little further south, 117 residential units were under construction since August 2020 with a total investment of around 450 million euros. In addition to around 7360 m² of residential space, 1830 m² of commercial and retail space is also being developed here. The project will be completed in the 3rd quarter of 2022. 

Berlinovo is also about to hand over a mixed-use project in Walter-Friedländer-Strasse. Here, 235 residential units on six floors have been developed in recent years. This also includes two commercial units and approximately 5000 m² office space. With a gross floor area of 16,000 m², it is one of the largest new construction projects in Prenzlauer Berg in recent years. 

Building land is rare in Prenzlauer Berg, therefore smaller projects are also under development and construction.

In the last 2 years we have counted a total of 30 new construction projects with a construction sum between 3-88 million. Contact us if you are interested in one of the projects.

Neighbourhoods in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

Prenzlauer Berg is not a very large district in terms of area but it borders around with popular neighbours: Pankow, Wedding, Mitte, Friedrichshain and Hohenschönhausen as well as Weissensee. Thanks to its excellent infrastructure, the district is a core area for the surrounding districts. In the northeast there is the park "Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg", built after the Second World War as a hill of wreckage. Besides the little lakes in the Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg and in the Ernst-Thälmann-Park, water areas are otherwise quite rare. Among the most sought-after neighbourhoods there are Kollwitzplatz, Arnimplatz, the quarters around Bornholmer Strasse and Wisbyer Strasse and various micro-locations along Greifswalder Strasse. The demand is high everywhere. The discrepancy between statistical and arithmetical household size shows that the market is in relative equilibrium. Helmholtzplatz and Bötzowviertel are particularly popular places for families. The Bötzow quarter is home to Kurt Schwitters School, one of Berlin's largest schools. The Kastanienallee is also called "Castingallee". Here and in the Gleim quarter, not far away, international life is bustling. On weekends the Mauerpark is a meeting place for people from Prenzlauer Berg and an international crowd. Prenzlauer Berg is practiced calmness with a dash of normality in everyday life.

Rental market in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The rental offer in Prenzlauer Berg in the past 12 months was of about 1,670 apartments. The average (offered) rent for existing apartments in this period was about 17.85 EUR/m². For new apartments one had to pay on average 24.60 EUR/m². The price development for existing apartments was  16.20 %, for new apartments 15.50 %.

Bird's eye view: Asking rents in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The bubble chart shows the supply situation of the past 12 months on the property market in Prenzlauer Berg. The colors mark the year of construction classes, the size of the bubbles the quantity of offers, the location in the coordinate system price radius (square meters) and apartment sizes. Construction activity in the rental housing sector in Prenzlauer Berg is very low. Price-fixed housing is mainly offered in the 1950-1978 construction year class. The widest range can be found in old buildings.

Development of rental price segments in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The chart shows the changes in the price structure of the district based on four price segments. How many apartments were offered in the different price segments? The line shows the development of the average offer price per square metre across all apartment types and price segments for existing apartments.

Building activity in Prenzlauer Berg

The suburb Prenzlauer Berg is part of the administrative district Pankow. Its housing stock amounts to 94.000 units distributed over 15 statistical planning areas LOR ( Lebensweltlich orientierte Räume). With an average apartment size of 73,0m², Prenzlauer Berg is in line with the Berlin average. The difference between the statistical household size (1.65 persons per household) and the calculated household size (1.79 persons per household) is comparatively small.

The peak of construction activity in Prenzlauer Berg was recorded in 2015. 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 Prenzlauer Berg there are currently ten conservation areas (milieu protection areas) in accordance with §172 BauGB with a total area of about 535 ha. This corresponds to about 49% of the total area of the Prenzlauer Berg district.

Milieu protection map Prenzlauer Berg

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.

Migration

While Prenzlauer Berg shows a negative balance following the current trend within Berlin, the district gains population from international and national migrations. In suburban terms, there are slight tendencies to drift away. Thus a reversal of the currents has taken place, which until the turn of the millennium were mainly fed from inland trains. The international influxes to Prenzlauer Berg are dominated by the USA and Western European countries. The national influxes are led by North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Bavaria, followed by Baden-Württemberg. In suburban relations, the district loses residents to the districts of Oberhavel, Barnim and Potsdam. The balance is also negative in internal relations. Prenzlauer Berg has lost to the other districts of Berlin in the course of 5 years. Friedrichshain, Mitte, Pankow and Wedding are the main targets.