Before I have started in the Real Estate business I was active in the financial industry as an independent broker for investment and saving products. In 2006 I became the Financial Officer in a global acting Real Estate Company where I have structured the Financial network and the sales process in general until the beginning of 2009. After this station I have worked at an affiliated company of the Colonia Real Estate AG which is listed at the German Stock-Exchange and one of the biggest Real Estate companies in Germany. The value of the managed properties exceeds the 2 Billion EUR barrier.

What type of person buys in Berlin?

This is very difficult to answer. There are two different types of clients. The person who is searching for a vacant apartment has simply fallen in love with Berlin and would like to live in this city. The typical person who wants to invest in tenanted apartments is searching for an attractive mix between chances and security. The typical client has collected a lot of general information about Berlin and has clear ideas about the location he want to invest in.

What is the typical kind of property people buy?

Investors are looking for properties which are bound into a well organized owner community without a bigger reparation tailback. Furthermore they are looking for apartments with 40 – 60 m² living space which will have a quite good demand in the future. Last but not least they request net yields from 5% upwards.

Whicj areas are good to invest in?

This depends on what the main target of each investor is. If you are searching for high yields you would have to invest in areas like Wedding, Steglitz, Weißensee and parts of Zehlendorf, Spandau and Köpenik. If the capital appreciation is more important I would recommend areas like attractive parts of Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf, Kreuzberg, parts of Pankow and the north located area of Neukölln as this area is close to the Mitte district. Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain can surprise with some last bargains but most parts of these districts and Mitte were already sold during the last years and the purchase prices already increased significant.

Which areas are "up and coming" in your opinion?

If we take a detailed look in the more recent past we can notice that Mitte really became the new heart of a new Berlin and all the surrounding districts are in the direct focus of investors world-wide. With this information in the mind it is pretty clear that the southern parts of Wedding and Pankow could offer a surpassing capital appreciation. The same applies to the northern parts of Neukölln, Kreuzberg and Schöneberg. Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf and Zehlendorf are offering an attractive mix of “already up and gently coming”.

What are the reasons to invest in Berlin, over other German cities?

The first and main reason is the potential of Berlin. We have the lowest average rent in Berlin but the most interesting city for the future. BBI our new international airport will be finished in 2012, the art scene is becoming bigger and bigger. The political heart already beats in Berlin and a lot headquarters of international companies already opened their doors. This city is booming and the rents will increase slowly but stable. In 2008 the average rent raised up about 2.8%. Landlords increased the rents especially for new agreements. They claimed 14% more rent than the average tenant in comparable areas is paying at the moment. Furthermore Berlin is a tenant city with less than 15% owners. This single fact assures very attractive investment opportunities in Berlin as the purchase prices went down a little bit because of the global financial and economic crisis but are also to be looking up.

Is finance available at the moment?

Yes , financing with an LTV of around 60% for foreign clients is available. We are cooperating with major German financial institutes which provide further security and funds for an investment in Berlin.