Investitionsaussichten nach der Wachstumseuphorie

Abstract

The development of the Berlin office market is strongly tied to the economic situation of the new German capital. When the transformation process started in 1990, it was accompanied by an initial euphoria. Market activity was characterized by a furiously investing construction industry and rising rental levels. It was supposed that the growing political importance of Berlin would have a positive effect on the economic power of the city and that Berlin would become an interesting place for investors on a national and international level. Even forecasts published by official survey institutes were optimistic that Berlin was going to become an international hub; especially in view of the EU's expected enlargement into central Europe. But the economic boom was short-lived. Most of the structural changes resulted in a strong rise in unemployment, high vacancy rates and a decline in office leases. Berlin has not recovered from its recession of the early 1990s, but the economic situation has stabilized at a consistent level. Due to the fact that an increasing number of prime services have been implemented in Berlin recently (media, IT, governmental services) and that the enterprise structure is dominated mainly by small- and medium-sized businesses, there is a high diversity in the pattern of demand that has developed. There has also been a tendency for companies to move into secondary areas of downtown Berlin which are near the traditional city centers, thus avoiding the high-priced areas while still enjoying the benefits of Berlin's outstanding overall infrastructure and traffic connections. Basically, there are still possibilities of development and chances for a slight increase in the demand for office real estate in the future, but a lengthy upswing can only be achieved if an improvement of the general economic and business situation in the city of Berlin can be brought about.