Allianz Real Estate Germany has acquired the office ensemble called “Markgrafenpark” in Berlin for approximately €80mn. The seller, according to information available to THOMAS DAILY, is a special purpose vehicle founded by the Eurohypo. The office buildings were constructed between 2003 and 2005. With a total of 85% of the space, the JobCenter and BKK Verkehrsbau Union are the ensemble’s anchor tenants. The remaining 15% of the nearly 40,000 sqm of total rental area are leased in small portions, according to Allianz.

While in some of Germany's large cities, strong price increases can be seen, no price bubbles are in sight on the German residential property markets. This conclusion was drawn by the vdp association of German pfandbrief banks which ascertains residential price developments in all of the districts in Germany. Instead, vdp's principle managing director Jens Tolckmitt said the price increases until now were for more fundamental reasons. Last year, prices increased in most of the 412 German districts by 1% to 3%, which was moderate in the face of consumer prices that rose by 2.3%. The exceptions were a few big cities like Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, with growth rates of over 8% each. But even these rates were said to have a solid foundation. Germany's expert committees as well as the BVR federal association of German cooperative banks also reported seeing no evidence of a price bubble.

The Federal Ministry of Defence will use the "Shell-Haus" building in Berlin's Tiergarten district as an interim home for 360 service posts that are to move from Bonn to Berlin. According to the Ministry, the contracts to lease the building at Reichpietschufer 60-62 constructed in 1932 were signed last Friday by the Bima federal agency for property tasks, which has its Berlin offices just opposite in the Bendlerblock building. The lease for the entire "Shell-Haus" with 16,700 sqm of rental space begins on September 1, 2012, and initially runs for five years. The rental cost for the entire period will be nearly €20mn. If the Ministry decides, however, to utilize an option to terminate the contract after three years, then costs of about €12mn would be due. The property was most recently the headquarters for Berlin-based Gasag. Built in 1932 and modernized in 1999, it is part of the CS Euroreal open-ended real estate fund issued by Credit Suisse.

Although the total population in Germany is shrinking, hardly any price decreases for properties will be threatening during the coming decades. Professor Bernd Raffelhüschen of Freiburg University’s Research Center on Generational Charters voiced this thesis at IVD’s German Property Convention, adding that the decline in demand for properties will be more than compensated by the population’s steady increase in age with its disproportionate need for living space. According to Raffelhüschen, an absolute, but very moderate trend towards a decline is to commence not until 2035 and in 2050, the demand for space will still be at around 95% of its current level.