Germany’s secondary cities offer the best opportunities for investors, who can find lower prices, higher yields and sustainable cashflow, experts agreed at the PropertyEU Germany Investment Briefing, which was held at EXPO REAL on Thursday.
'Germany's decentralized structure makes for a very healthy and diverse market, and investors are waking up to that,' said Nikolai Deus-von Homeyer, managing partner, NAS Invest. 'If you see where jobs are being created and where people want to live, it makes perfect sense to look outside the top seven cities.'
Many investors are now looking beyond the trophy assets, the expensive landmark building in the CBDs, and finding less obvious, and cheaper, opportunities in smaller cities. 'Not only German but also foreign investors now understand that Germany is a multitude of secondary centres that offer better yields and stable leases.'
The good thing about Germany is that 'there are opportunities across sectors and across the risk spectrum,' said Christian Eder, director research Europe, Invesco.
Looking ahead, there is no reason for pessimism, experts agreed. 'There is no flea in the soup,' said Christian Bischoff, CEO, LLI-Projects. 'If you are not happy with the situation in Germany now, then it means you can never be happy at all.'
