vestor Level One files for insolvency - Intelligence Report - REFIRE

ower than these well-established sites, although
they work the same way. Developers,
architects, investors, analysts, valuers,
facility managers, brokers, engineers and
planners will find it useful, we think – in fact,
anybody contributing in some way to the life
cycle of individual commercial buildings. The
language of the website is English, in keeping
with the international background of most of
the site’s visitors.
The website was launched at the MIPIM
in March under the auspices of Germany’s
federal Economics and Technology ministry
in Berlin. The site revolves around individual
Don’t move - or if you do, move east
It’s a common complaint in Germany by landlords that the socalled
‘Mietspiegel’ or maximum permissible residential rent fixed
in a neighbourhood, discourages investment by keeping rents
artificially low at landlords’ expense. New development, too, is
said to be hindered by the low level of rents achievable. However,
recent research shows that, at least for new tenancies, residential
rents are rising strongly in Germany’s largest cities as investors
and landlords find ways to raise rent levels.
A recent study by Jones Lang LaSalle shows a widening
discrepancy between the rents payable by new tenants (‘offered
rents’) and those who don’t move, whose rents are protected by
law, in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. The
study delved into individual neighbourhoods within these cities to
provide a more complete picture than other more general studies.
The JLL study examined 130,000 in its City Profile from the
first half of this year, and found that the ‘offered rents’ were diverging
strongly from rents payable by sitting tenants. New tenants in
the most desirable parts of Berlin, such as Prenzlauer Berg and
Mitte, were paying nearly �8.00 per sq.m for a renovated apartment
in an older building, nearly 50% more than indicated by the
‘Mietspiegel’ for the neighbourhoods.
According to Stefan Mergen, responsible for residential valuations
at JLL, “This trend is going to continue, and will be probably
even more extreme than expected. It just shows that the
‘Mietspiegel’ is being completely ignored, in favour of what the
market will bear. We’re seeing the same thing in Hamburg and
the other larger cities.”
The research institute Empirica, which carries out its own
studies on rental levels, confirmed JLL’s findings of generally rising
rents nationwide. It found that in 70% of 118 German cities the
‘offered rents’ have been rising steadily since the last quarter of
commercial property projects, with users who
played a role in the property’s development
cleverly linked up, able to send secure messages
to each other, and discuss new projects.
Over 500 property projects worldwide
are currently featured on the site. Registration
is free. You can join the community at www.
ourbania.com
Germany/Banking
SEB plans change to structure
of German unit
Swedish bank SEB said last week it was chang-
2005. In Neubrandenburg, for example, it found that the average
rent had risen by 26% within the ten quarters, from �4.27 to �5.36 per
sq.m/month. The ‘Mietspiegel’ certainly wouldn’t permit that.
Meanwhile, a company called F&B Forschung und Beratung
für Wohnen, Immobilien und Umwelt GmbH has just produced
the “Mietspiegelindex 2008”, a comprehensive guide for all the recommended
official rent levels throughout Germany. The researchers
examined rent levels for a 65 sq.m apartment, built to normal or
average specifications in a normal or average area. While the average
rent comes to �5.91 per sq.m/month, there are wide regional
variations.
In the northern part of Germany, most rents correspond to the
average. But in the south, in the states of Baden Württemberg
and Bavaria, and in the middle (Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate)
the average rents are �7.21 and �6.32 respectively (per sq.m/month),
tenants pay considerably more. North Rhine-Westphalia is slightly
below average, while in the eastern states, including Berlin, rents are
well below average.
The average rent in Munich at �9.81 is 66% above the national
average, and is the highest in the country. Even towns well outside
the centre of Munich rank among the highest in the country, with
the towns of Germering and Dachau ranked two and three on the
national list.
Berlin is the place to live cheaply, with apartments in the western
part of the city 3% below the national average, and east Berlin 10%
below the mean. Renting in Munich is thus fully 70% more expensive
for its inhabitants than living in the nation’s capital – where else
do you find this? To really save money, live in an eastern German
city, none of which feature in the top 30 most expensive places to
rent. Then rent a newly-built apartment, which in contrast to the
west will cost less than a renovated older building. With all these
savings you can buy an excellent computer, and plenty of broadband
capacity. And then become a telecommuter…
20
ing its structure to separate its retail banking
business from merchant banking and real estate
operations in Germany.
The market has recently speculated that
SEB might hive off its German retail banking division,
acquired some years ago from Germany’s
labour union bank BfG. SEB did not mention a
possible sale, but did say that it wanted to take
advantage of the merger and acquisition landscape
in Germany. In a statement, the bank
said, “The organisational change is of internal
character solely and will have no implications on
daily operations. SEB Asset Management is not
part of the organisational change process.”