Episodes

  • Blockchain: what does it mean for Germany’s real estate market?

    Blockchain: what does it mean for Germany’s real estate market?
    Aug 30 2019
    Blockchain is starting to filter through to the German real estate market, with many in the industry hoping to gain a major competitive edge if they embrace it head-on. Some real estate investors are starting to dip their toes in the water by launching funds via blockchain-powered platforms.
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    8 mins
  • Multifamily investment tops new high of EUR40bn

    Multifamily investment tops new high of EUR40bn
    Aug 26 2019
    Multifamily investment reached a new high of EUR40bn across eight European markets, including Germany, tracked by Savills last year, the highest ever recorded and up 27% on 2017.
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    5 mins
  • All Trumped out, as Frau Merkel sets determined new course

    All Trumped out, as Frau Merkel sets determined new course
    Jun 28 2017
    This was the week that a shaken Angela Merkel told her fellow citizens in a Munich beer hall that the EU must now be prepared to look after itself, and cast aside any expectations of solidarity with erstwhile partners the UK and the US. After she’d had several days of enduring Donald Trump’s presence at close quarters, we were struck by the decisive tone in Merkel’s manner. The last vestiges of hope in salvaging something of the old order were – reluctantly – being wiped away. A line was being drawn. Merkel and her ally Horst Seehofer, the Bavarian prime minister, raised their beer glasses in a toast, and buried any past hatchets between them. Their CDU/CSU alliance sent out a strong message of intent as to what we can expect in the run-up to September’s national elections. Barring a disaster, Merkel is on course to win again.
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    7 mins
  • German government mulls change to crowdfunding regulation

    German government mulls change to crowdfunding regulation
    May 29 2017
    Currently, crowdfunding regulation in Germany states that it is exempt from the kind of regulatory controls imposed on senior lending and publically-raised equity, which are heavily regulated. At the moment, if the total capital raised by a crowdfunding project does not exceed €2.5m, it is not necessary to have an authorized investment memorandum. Individual investors are not allowed to invest more than €10,000 in a crowdfunding project and it is ranked behind the senior loan tranche.
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    4 mins
  • German government to abolish tax advantages on share deals

    German government to abolish tax advantages on share deals
    May 15 2017
    In response to a request on the part of Germany’s Alliance ’90 and Green Party, the German government has said that proposed solutions will be presented at the Finance Ministry’s conference on 19 October this year. The property transfer tax has been the subject of heated debate in Germany, because while private individuals have no choice but to pay it when they buy a home, many companies dodge it by availing themselves of share deal exemptions when they buy properties. It is estimated by the German government that of all the residential portfolios comprising more than 800 units transacted between 1999 and 2016 in Germany, share deals were used in 71% of cases. In 35% of deals, buyers acquired less than 95% of shares but in 36% of deals, they actually acquired more than 95% of shares, according to the German government.
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    5 mins
  • Faith in German bricks and mortar, as the tide of revolution recedes

    Faith in German bricks and mortar, as the tide of revolution recedes
    Apr 27 2017
    As Gary Lineker famously com- mented, “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” Nowadays, in the shadow of Brexit, the world of real estate is beginning to feel a little bit like that.
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    7 mins
  • In God we trust. All others must bring hard data.

    In God we trust. All others must bring hard data.
    Mar 30 2017
    The latest MIPIM in Cannes was, by almost universal consent, one of the most mellow and easygoing in recent years, at least for German participants. The uninterrupted sunshine, the positive mood in the halls, the varied and frequently lively programme of seminars and panel discussions – all served to support an atmosphere that facilitated fruitful dialogue, despite the geopolitical uncertainties lurking in the wings, offstage.
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    7 mins
  • All change at Germany’s SPD while election battle lines get re-drawn

    All change at Germany’s SPD while election battle lines get re-drawn
    Jan 25 2017
    Germany’s left-of-centre SPD , the junior partner in the governing coalition in Berlin with Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU grouping, has been at the forefront of a new drive to dampen the country’s residential housing boom, now entering its seventh year.
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    7 mins