The website used real estate advertised on immowelt.de as the basis for calculating the purchase prices. Only existing apartments with a size of 40 to 120 square meters were taken into account - new properties were not included in the calculation. In all 78 major German cities covered by Immowelt, prices for owner-occupied homes rose in 2021 compared with the previous year. Only in three of the cities surveyed (Göttingen, Reutlingen, Lübeck) had the real estate market remained relatively stable in terms of prices over the past year - there, asking prices increased by less than five percent.

In Bonn, on the other hand, the median price per square meter in 2021 was 3,520 euros, while in 2020 it was 2,990 euros. However, Bernd Viebach, marketing and project manager at Kraft Immobilien GmbH in Bonn, takes a critical view of this 18 percent increase: "We consider this price increase to be exaggerated; Immowelt only represents around 35 percent of the properties published on real estate websites." The real price increase is calculated by a committee of experts on property values in Bonn.

Wieland Münch, who serves on the committee, has a different take on the situation: although he could not give any concrete figures before the report is published at the end of March.  He assumes - unlike Viebach - that the figure will be higher than the 18 percent calculated by Immowelt. "The platform takes the offer prices as a basis. The expert committee, however, calculates the price increase of actual sales. There are also new-build apartments included. Since many new buildings were sold in Bonn in 2021, for example on Poppelsdorfer Allee, the actual price increase will be over 18 percent," Münch said. But the evaluation is still taking place.

Meanwhile, the higher prices are of course of particular concern to buyers, who often have to budget more money to buy an apartment or spend significantly longer looking for the right place to live. "There are many customers who are searching for more than two years," says Münch. And Viebach also reports that owner-occupants sometimes have to search for an apartment "for years." According to Münch, demand is high across all segments of the population. Both owner-occupiers and capital investors want to buy apartments in Bonn, Viebach adds.

The latter remain calm despite rising prices, whereas owner-occupiers are definitely annoyed, Viebach says. "There is a certain frustration one can sense. Anyone who has already had 50 viewings, doesn’t want to get into another bidding process. Because not everyone wants to buy at any price," Münch adds. He fears that demand in Bonn will continue to rise in the coming years, partly due to population growth. "And as long as there are no alternative investment opportunities, many people will continue to want to buy an apartment as an investment property.”

The high demand can no longer be met in Bonn by building new apartments: "There are hardly any more building sites within the city." In addition, he says, not only have the costs for craftsmen and materials risen, but the requirements imposed by the authorities are also becoming increasingly complicated. "All of this is reflected in the price in the end," Münch explains. 

According to the real estate broker, in recent years, an average of between 1,500 and 1,800 apartments get sold in Bonn each year. That's how many customers Münch has registered in his system alone - people looking to purchase a home.  Of course there are also other brokers in Bonn who have numerous customers. It means that not everyone looking to find a new home will actually be able to find one. "Sometimes it's just a matter of luck in Bonn when customers find a suitable apartment.”

(Orig. text: Marie Schneider/Translation: ck)