Real Estate Hamburg: locals greet by saying “Moin!”

After the ink had dried under the “Treaty for Hamburg“, the signatories cheerfully smiled into the cameras. Hamburg’s First Mayor Olaf Scholz, the two Hamburg ministers Frank Horch and Jutta Blankau, as well as representatives of Hamburg’s seven districts thus strive to stimulate residential construction.

The Senate promises to provided conversion land and no longer marketable commercial space and to faster issue building permissions. The number of flats finished is to be ramped up to 6,000 per year. In addition, the Senate intends to enter an “alliance for dwelling“ with the real estate industry – a chance for companies

Outskirts, inner city – and HafenCity, naturally

Housing is created at many locations: with new planning regulations determined this summer for Hamburg’s inner city, opening up the road for more residence in downtown. The municipal housing company SAGA GWG will invested some 100 million euro until 2020 into its large residential complex Mümmelmannsberg to upgrade the neighbourhood’s 4,700 flats and one shopping centre, and to create new outdoor facilities.

Hamburg’s flagship project is HafenCity, both for commercial and residential properties. The North and West of HafenCity is already home to more than 1,700 people, and 7,200 jobs have been created so far. “HafenCity established itself as an independent office location“, says Andreas Rehberg, managing director of Grossmann & Berger. From autumn 2012, the new tube line U4, and later also the Elbphilharmonie concert hall will further increase the attraction of HafenCity to businesses and people alike. In 2011, a further phase of construction started at Überseequartier. And with the revision of the master plan for HafenCity’s east, the area’s development and completion has been defined for the time, reaching as far as the Elbe bridges.

Sustainable urban development is the policy

Hamburg wants to decouple growth and change from resource consumption. Prime examples are found at Wilhelmsburg, model region for the “Leap across the Elbe“ of the International Building Exhibition IBA 2013. What already takes shape on the Elbe island, is still music of the future the “Mitte Altona“.  If the long-distance train station Altona moves north to the rapid rail station S-Bahn Diebsteich as intended by Deutsche Bahn, 75 hectares of land will be vacant for residences and offices. At least 13 hectares at the eastern rim of the railway property will be open for new developments even without the transferral of the station. By 2012, first bulldozers will roll.

When looking at the different market segments, one sector stands in particular: logistics. With 392,000 square metres, the turnover of the first six months of 2011 exceeded the prior-year period by 50 per cent. Even the all-time-high of 800,000 square metres in sales seems now possible for 2011. On the office market, Engel & Völkers Commercial expects a market volume of 450,000 square metres in 2011 after the 13.5 per cent increase to 210,000 square metres in the first half of 2011.

Hamburg – well positioned compared to other cities

“An increase of sales volumes and record prices are characteristic of the investment market for residential and office buildings in Hamburg. In total, sales increased by roughly 19 per cent to 459 objects compared to the previous year. Sales volumes even increased by 29 per cent to 886 million euro“, said Christian von Gottberg, member of the executive board of Engel & Völkers Commercial Hamburg.Christoph Ringleben, managing director of Grossmann & Berger, predicts for the entire business year 2011: “Transaction volume will exceed two billion euro, as the pipeline is well filled, and further high-volume objects will change ownership.“ Even though the future economic development determines whether all chances can be realised in Hamburg, their base is prepared: the Hanseatic city is well positioned compared to other metropolitan areas.