Renting property is a long established tradition in Germany, but that trend is changing.
Rocketing house prices, propelled by investors, could help turn the property market into one with greater private ownership.
In the major cities of Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, attitudes are changing.
For a very long time, Berlin held a reputation for affordable rents with tenants. In 2011 84% of Berliners rented their homes, compared with 50% in London.
Now rents in Berlin are going up quickly, making purchasing seem to be a safer option against rent increases. Some renters have been harassed by landlords keen to sell their property on to developers, even though tenant’s rights are well-embedded in law.
The trend towards buying has also been fostered by low interest rates in the eurozone. Germans traditionally save about one-tenth of their income and may now judge that buying property could be a better investment than other types of savings.
Germany’s stable economy is still drawing people from the UK, the US, and France looking to invest in property, especially in some of the sleek luxury apartment buildings going up in the capital.
Engel & Völkers puts foreign investors' share in the retail investment rise at roughly 30%, although this is down considerably from 2007.
