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Where to live in Berlin:apartments in the German capital's coolest areas cost from £215,000
May 12th 2019
By Homes&Property
Thirty years after the fall of the Wall, Berlin is a colourful urban success story for the 50,000 people who relocate there every year.
Most of these new arrivals are well-educated and young: students coming to university, creatives coming for the dynamic art scene or techies for the start-ups.
Prime property prices in Berlin rose 109 per cent in the past 10 years compared with 39 per cent in Germany overall.
Berlin is predicted to see six per cent growth this year, the highest of any European city. Yet homes there are still more affordable than in any other major German city and up to two thirds cheaper than Paris or London.
Berlin remains in its infancy in many ways but fast forward 20 years and it will undoubtedly be one of the world’s great metropolises.
Where to buy in Berlin
Top locations for international buyers include Charlottenburg, the sophisticated heart of West Berlin focused on elegant Kurfürstendamm, Mitte the central and historic heart of Berlin straddling east and west, and Friedrichshain.
This last district, formerly part of East Berlin and bordering Mitte, has an eight-mile section of the Berlin Wall that is now the East Side Gallery, the world’s longest open-air mural created by international artists.
This area has changed beyond recognition in just five years, becoming a creative entertainment district centred on the Mercedes-Benz Arena and Verti Music Hall.
Upcoming areas in Berlin
Investors with £300,000 or more to spend would do well to concentrate on new homes in central locations and especially around Media Spree on the borders of Mitte, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.
In these areas rental yields of three to four per cent are easily achievable.
Living in Berlin
Paul Gurner owns St George’s English Bookshop in Berlin, selling new and top-quality second-hand books. He set up the shop in 2003 and now has over 30,000 titles with plans to open a second shop in Schöneberg.
“I was working at The Courtauld Institute at Somerset House in 2000 when my then girlfriend returned home to Berlin and I decided to go, too,” says Paul, 42.
“And I have stayed. Berlin has something for everyone and for every phase of life, from the clubs to playgrounds to bars and parks. Daily life is relaxed and comfortable.”
Paul zips around the city on his e-motorbike between his bookshop in Prenzlauer Berg and Wilmersdorf in the west where his children, aged 14 and six, are at school. “Wilmersdorf is convenient for us to get to Spandau where we stable our horse.
“And all the free quick chargers for my electric car are in the west.”
Favourite restaurants and bars include Tomasa at Victoria Park, Redwood in Bergstrasse and Hausbar close to his shop for an after-work whisky sour. He recently invested in a small three-bedroom apartment near Olivaer Platz.