Skip to main content

Property along Berlin's former 'death strip' lures wealthy buyers

When luxury living quarter The Garden opens next year only a metal strip across the courtyard retracing the Berlin Wall will remind its affluent inhabitants that 25 years ago this was the "death strip" on no man's land separating east and west.

Instead of barbed wire and sentries, residents will be greeted by a 24/7 doorman and concierge service - and perhaps eventually, a growing, city-wide pushback against gentrification.

On the anniversary of the fall of the Wall in 1989, Berlin is belatedly attracting the kind of wealth normally associated with the capital of a major economic power.

A fluke of history means the city has a supply of vacant lots in coveted central locations along the Wall built by East Germany's communists to keep capitalism at bay, though some developers are wary of being too brazenly commercial about this.

"Clients, international and German alike, value living on historical ground," said Michael Ries of the property developer Pantera which is behind The Garden project and is the German partner to Sotheby's International Realty.

That same history has led to a less-than-linear growth path for Berlin's property market in the last quarter-century.

"For the longest time, it was just not worth buying here. This changed once Germany and Berlin emerged as a safe business location and investment destination in the wake of the economic and financial crisis," said Nikolaus Ziegert, whose consultancy has a 17.5 percent slice of the luxury market.

Economy Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has warned of the danger of a German property price bubble and the central bank has said apartments in some urban locations are over-valued by up to 25 percent, but the financial watchdog sees no evidence of this and Berlin itself seems to be years away from any such risk.

"Only if this price increase continues for years and years would we approach something close to a property bubble in Berlin," said Franz Eilers, head of research at the VDP mortgage bank association.

Last year 220 luxury condominiums were sold in Berlin, up from 185 in previous years, according to a report by consultancy bulwiengesa for Ziegert. International clients now make up half of the buyers in the luxury market, said Ries.

Dubbed the "epicenter of cool" and "Brooklyn on the Spree" river by the foreign press, Berlin is seeing economic growth to match its trendy reputation. Its output grew 1.7 percent in 2013, higher than the German national average.

Compared to London, New York and Paris, the Berlin market is still in its infancy. An exclusive complex, like Ziegert's Lux, is rare. It is more common to have a few luxury flats rub shoulders with normally priced ones, as in Pantera's The Garden.

SELLING POINT?

Legal disputes are often behind the long delays in building along the Wall's route.

Not all developers agree that the Cold War history is a valid selling point. Annette Mischler of the Groth Group sees it as "artificially resurrecting history" to put it in promotional material but Ries at Pantera said it would be to "ignore important history if we didn't".

_0">

The Wall is not the only historical association on Berlin's luxury property market. Film enthusiasts can now buy one of 220 lofts in Ziegert's red-bricked Metropolis Park, named for the Fritz Lang movie masterpiece of 1927. The most expensive flat in the complex went for 1.3 million euros (1.75 million).

_1">

The brochures did not mention its past role as the Karl Marx Academy where communist cadres were trained, though it does add to the "aura" of the building, the Ziegert consultancy's Schlueter said.

_2">

Eva Maria Fallenberg, 42, a radiologist hunting for an apartment in Berlin, said such matters were "not a priority" in her search but she was drawn to the Metropolis complex's "rich history", though she decided against buying there.

_3">

"I really liked the project's efforts to preserve and restore the exterior of the building, unlike projects by the Wall Park and the East Side Gallery," she said, referring to two of the tourist landmarks along the route of the Berlin Wall.

_4">

A 600-apartment project by the Wall Park, a former border strip turned into a park with live music and a flea market that attract about 50,000 people each weekend, has locals up in arms - part of an anti-gentrification backlash in a city better known for squatters and struggling artists than plush condominiums.

_5">

"The argument that they're helping the community by building much-needed new apartments is ridiculous," said Alexander Puell, a 39-year-old member of the Wall Park Friends Association.

_6">

"Yes, we need a lot of new apartments, but there is no shortage of luxury apartments, what we need is socially responsible investment appropriate to this neighborhood," Puell said as he promoted recycling at a school near the Wall Park.

_7">

The Groth Group, which owns the site, said the plan is for middle-class housing, but for locals like Puell luxury begins much lower than the official definition of 5,000 euros ($6,700)per square meter.

_8">

Parallel protests against a luxury project at the East Side Gallery, a 1.3-km section of the Wall covered with paintings, suggest there is a "slowly crystallizing network of Berliners concerned about city development", Puell said.

_9">

_10">

_11">

(Reporting by Anja Nilsson; Editing by Stephen Brown and Michael Roddy)

_12">

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o