When it comes to buying a holiday home, Germany has long suffered from an
image problem. Blame the uninspiring food, the weather – or maybe even all
those national stereotypes – but most of us would far rather holiday in
France, Spain or Italy than in Germany, let alone put our money into
property there.
Maybe we should think again. With its lakes, mountains and picturesque
villages, the Black Forest region, in the southwest, near the Swiss border,
has some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe. Surprisingly, perhaps, as
a result of a decade-long recession in the German property market, it has
some of its cheapest houses, too.
Timothy Sudworth, 60, is among those tempted to take a walk in the Black
Forest. Originally from Worcester, he has been working for more than 30
years as a goldsmith in Freiburg, the regional centre. “I always thought it
was too expensive to buy here. As I live near the French border, I was
looking in the Vos-ges and Alsace,” he says. “But prices over the border
have risen enormously, while here in the Black Forest, they have been more
consistent.”
Sudworth and his wife, Christa, are in the final stages of buying a 200 square
metre 17th-century farmhouse in the pretty village of Lenskirch, near the
Titisee lake. “It’s a fantastic building, made to last and has a lovely
character.” The price? Just £169,000. How far would that go in the Loire
valley or Tuscany? The Sudworths’ decision to buy is undoubtedly because
they live and work in Germany. But local agents are slowly waking up to the
possibility of selling property in the region to Britons or other foreigners
who have no connection with the country. They have been encouraged by the
growing number of British investors who have been snapping up buy-to-let
properties in Berlin over the past 18 months, attracted by the low prices
and high rental yields on offer there.
“Berlin is the in spot, and it’s booming,” says Maria Oltmann-Roach, who sells
property in the Black Forest (00 49 179 828 0792; www.viviun.com/AD-70303/).
“This has spread to other cities like Frankfurt and Mannheim, and now it’s
starting here.
“For many years, property prices in Germany were so low, and the market was so
bad. Now that it is picking up, they are happy to sell. For people from
countries such as Ire-land and England, it’s still cheap, so it is the right
time to buy. Germany is a really attractive place and it’s totally
undiscovered.”
The entry level can be extraordinarily low: Reimar Heger, an estate agent in
Neustadt, half an hour’s drive from Freiburg, near the Titisee, says you can
pick up a one-bedroom flat a few minutes’ walk from the lake for just
£14,000, while £200,000 will buy “an absolutely luxurious apartment”.
The agency has between 30 and 35 properties within a 15-mile radius of the
office. Some are dotted around tiny villages, tucked away in out-of-sight
woodland locations; others are located more centrally, in Neustadt or on the
lake, a lively tourist hot spot.
One two-bedroom property, set on a secluded hill above Titisee and on the
market for £102,000, offers an exquisite view over the lake from a
south-facing balcony and is within easy walking distance of local
restaurants. Or, for £61,000, Heger has a four-room, 100 square metre
property in Fischbach, a remote village he says would be suited to “people
looking for peace and quiet”. (For more details, visit his website: www.immobilien-heger.de.)
But choose your location carefully: prices vary quite sharply according to the
popularity of different villages, and this will not necessarily correlate
with their beauty. For example, prices in Hinterzarten – the setting for one
of Germany’s most popular soap operas – have been boosted because some of
its stars have bought there. Titisee and Kirchsatten are also more pricey
because of their popularity. “Prices really vary from village to village,”
Heger warns. “You musn’t equate expensive with nice countryside, and you
have to be careful you don’t pay just for the location.”
Freiburg, which sees itself as the “Cam-bridge of Germany”, is an attractive
location in its own right, with “culture, bicycles, intelligence and street
cafes”, says Wendy Thomas, a British commercial property developer who has
lived in the town for 18 years. The region, she claims, turns the stereotype
of “boring” Germany on its head.
“During the World Cup, people were staggered to find how attractive Germany
is,” she says. “The locals are known for enjoying the good life here, and
the quality of life is excellent. For the same price as in the UK, you can
buy a property more than twice the size.”
To the north, the area around Pforzheim, known as the gateway to the Black
Forest, is a quieter alternative for those keen to get away from the
tourists. Peppered with Germany’s beloved Kurorte (wellness centres) and
health spas, it has picturebook villages of traditional fachwerk (timbered)
houses and beautiful countryside. It is also close to large towns such as
Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and Baden-Baden, for sightseeing and shopping. Prices
of good-quality holiday homes range from £60,000 to £200,000.
If you really want to splash out, Olt-mann-Roach has a luxurious five-bed
converted barn in the idyllic village of Grossglattbach for £540,000. Built
on four levels, it has a south-facing terrace, perfect for summer barbecues,
and a traditional open fireplace for the winter.
Wherever you buy in the region, you are in fairly close reach of Britain:
Rya-nair flies to Karlsruhe-Baden and Frie-drichshafen, on Lake Constance,
from London Stansted; EasyJet has services to Basel, just over the border in
Switzer-land, from Luton, Stansted and Liver-pool.
But why confine your property search to the Black Forest? Best known for its
oompah bands, lederhosen and the annual Oktoberfest beer festival, Bavaria,
to the east, has spectacular scenery, too, with better skiing than the Black
Forest. It is also easy accessible, with flights to Munich and Nuremberg.
It was this combination that attracted Margaret Leach and her husband, Martin
Holborow, from Knighton, in the Welsh borders, who make frequent business
trips to Prague, the Czech capital, a couple of hours’ drive away. The pair,
both 57, paid just £67,000 for a house in the pretty Alpine village of
Bay-erisch Eisenstein, on the German side of the border, which they have
converted into three holiday flats to rent out to tourists. They loved the
area so much, they moved there and bought another property for £36,000,
which they have developed into two three-bed flats (for details, visit www.bavarian-for-est-holidays.com).
Leach says the properties have proved so popular, most of this summer is
already booked, while Christmas has been taken for the next two years .
“People are always looking for new places to go,” she says. “It’s a
beautiful area, nobody knows about it, and it’s cheap. House prices are low
by British standards.” But just because property in Germany is cheap, does
it follow that prices are bound to rise? Opinions are divided. “It’s hard to
say,” Heger says. “At the moment, prices are stable and reasonable. It would
be sheer speculation for me to say that people will make money out of
reselling their holiday apartment in a few years’ time. My advice is, if you
find a nice place that you can enjoy, then buy it without speculating about
the future.” Bear in mind, too, that the German equivalent of stamp duty and
other buying costs can be high – easily adding 6%-8% to the purchase price.
Heger’s cautious prognosis is echoed by Tobias Just, a property analyst for
Deutsche Bank. “Prices in Germany are relatively cheap in comparison
to the UK, France and Spain,” he says. “Unlike these countries, German
prices have not shot up in the past 10 years – and I don’t predict that they
will in the next year, either.”
On the other hand, the risk is equally low, says Michael Schick,
vice-president of the German Association of Real Estate Agents. He predicts
modest annual rises of 4%-5% over the next few years, making Germany a far
safer option than Spain and some other European countries, where the
property-market bubble appears in danger of bursting.
“Germany has become an investors’ darling, and has topped the poll in many
international surveys about where is the best place to invest,” he says.
When it comes to the Black Forest, at least, maybe you can have your cake
and eat it.
German bites
Built in 1983, this Bavarian-style country house in Tegernsee is for sale for
£424,500. It is divided into three flats, but could be converted into a
family home. Realestate-Dreams; 00 49 89 6242 1088, www.realestate-dreams.com
A two-bed, 86 square metre flat in a development in central Freiburg is due
for completion by the end of the year. Near the river, it could be a holiday
flat or a buy to let. £178,200, through Kirschner-Wohnbau; 00 49 76 41 46
050, www.kirschner-wohnbau.de
In a 19th-century building converted into holiday flats in the 1980s, this
two-bed, 82 square metre flat in Obertal-Buhlbach is for sale for £115,000.
It is a half-hour drive from Baden-Baden. Barbara Walter; 020 7460 7053, www.germanpropertyfinder.com
Near Lechbruck, Via Claudia is a village of newly built holiday homes in
Bavaria. Prices for a one-bedroom chalet start at £114,000, with two-bedders
from £151,000. A furniture package is available. Select Immobilien, 00 49 69
900 2090, www.select-immobilien.com
To
search for property in Germany on propertyfinder.com click here
To find properties for sale
in Germany on properazzi.com click here
I have lived in Germany for almost 30 years now, 20 in Bavaria and since then in Karlsruhe near the Black Forest. If you love the genuine alpine feeling, then Bavaria is for you, with an authentic folk culture and good beer. The Black Forest is beautiful and turning into a serious venue for gourmets
Catriona Thomas, Karlsruhe, Germany
Dear Nicola Smith,
Thank you for your 'interesting' article on properties in Germany.
I have lived here in Germany for over 30 years and am now coming to the time in my life where I am looking for a place to retire to. My preference is south-west Germany because of the scenery, culture, food and easy living. You are quite right in saying it "is a really attractive place and it's totally undiscovered."
Now you have spoilt it all by printing a two page article which will send the 'consumer Brits' on a property buying spree which will have terrible affects on my retirement plan!!
I hope you will be able to live with yourself!
Irony apart, it is a wonderful place which has been ignored for over a century (for obvious historical reasons).
I just hope my intentions of a quiet, secluded and 'undiscovered' retirement won't be gazumped by "foreign" investors.
Peter With, Darmstadt, Germany
Ire-land? Liver-pool? Cam-bridge? Switzer-land? A little hypenation happy it appears!
Kelvin Hanratty, Salford, Greater Manchester