Comission-free real estate directly from the owner in Hamburg

Hamburg is one of the most beautiful but most expensive German cities for real estate

The "pearl" of the north on the Alster and Elbe rivers is not only loved and sung about by its residents and visitors for its scenic and architectural beauty. As a historic Hanseatic city, Germany's most important port and, with a population of over 1.7 million, the second largest city in the Federal Republic, Hamburg also enjoys an almost mythical global reputation as a cosmopolitan, prosperous, economically important and, for some, even melancholy place. Urban hustle and bustle and maritime life combine with the proverbial Hanseatic business acumen and far-reaching tolerance to form an unmistakable mixture that continues to inspire people from all over the world. Simple locations such as Hausbruch, Billstedt, Lohbrügge, Steilshoop, Meiendorf, Oldenfelde, Hohenhorst and Großlohe in the east or increasingly expensive central locations in St. Pauli, St. Georg and Altona make the city a unique place. Georg and Altona, as well as the Speicherstadt (HafenCity), which has been lavishly redeveloped as a new residential and commercial district, or more middle-class and expensive residential areas such as Hochkamp, Hoheluft, Harvesthude, Uhlenhorst, Rotherbaum, Eppendorf, Ottensen, Groß Flottbek, Othmarschen, Nienstedten, Blankenese, Iserbrook and Rissen in the west. The atmospheric differences between, for example, Hafenstrasse and Harburg, Elbchaussee and Eidelstedt, Millerntorstadion and Mönckebergstrasse, Landungsbrücken and Langenhorn, Reeperbahn and Rathausmarkt or Jungfernstieg and Jenfeld are sometimes overly clear, but they also generate a large part of the special Hamburg attitude to life. It is no coincidence that Hamburg is one of the most popular, but unfortunately also one of the most expensive residential areas in Germany. With current average purchase prices between approx. 3,400 and 3,800 and up to 8,000 euros/m² for apartmentsinprime locations and prices per square meter for houses between 1,500 and 7,500 euros/m², one must sometimes dig deep into one's pocket when purchasing real estate here.

The entire city center and its neighborhoods are seeing high price increases

As in all other major German cities, prices in Hamburg have risen relatively sharply, especially in the last three years, with a rate of a whopping 25 percent between 2011 and 2013 alone. In some of the above-mentioned and classically expensive neighborhoods, real estate became so expensive during this period that their previously rather inexpensive neighboring neighborhoods were also affected by up to double-digit percentage increases. For example, in Eimsbüttel next to Eppendorf, Barmbek Süd near Winterhude and Sülldorf north of Blankenese. The price rises also affect above all the districts close to the city center in Hamburg's two central districts of Altona (Bahrenfeld, Altona-Nord, Altona-Altstadt, Sternschanze) and Mitte (St. Pauli, Neustadt, St. Georg, Hammerbrook, Borgfelde, Rothenburgsort, Horn, Hamm-Nord, Mitte and -Süd). These are often residential and commercial areas that were once basic to good, in some cases still unrenovated, but increasingly in demand and thus upgraded. The Wilhelmsburg district south of the city center, located between the two large Elbe arms, has also been undergoing a special development for some time. The once simple and, due to its slightly isolated location as a diked former Elbe island, hardly in demand and heavily industrialized area with its many workers' housing estates has received numerous impulses both from the hosting of the International Garden Show in 2013 and especially from the still ongoing construction projects of the IBA Hamburg, which will probably noticeably improve or increase the local quality of life - and thus also prices - there in the future.TheReiherstieg district with its old buildings is already a popular residential area in Wilhelmsburg, and the Kirchdorf Süd subdistrict with its high-rise buildings is also gradually being made more livable through urban planning measures.

South of the Elbe, plans are being made for the future in Wilhelmsburg and Veddel.

Also south of the Elbe, but even closer to the city center and thus even more interesting for investors in the medium to long term, is possibly the district of Veddel in the northeast of Wilhelmsburg. The area around the center of Veddeler Markt is characterized by typical Hamburg red brick facades and dense development. Since 2007, the district has been home to the "BallinStadt" emigrant museum around the former and reconstructed Emigratino halls, which has been widely praised for its authenticity and vividness. In Hamburg's north and its district of Hamburg-North, in turn, the locations on and near the Alster in Hohenfelde, Uhlenhorst, Winterhude, Eppendorf and Alsterdorf are traditionally expensive; a little further toward the city limits, in Fuhlsbüttel, Ohlsdorf and Langenhorn, the price structure is somewhat more relaxed. The same applies to the neighboring district of Eimsbüttel to the west, where Harvestehude, Hoheluft-West, Niendorf, Eimsbüttel and Rotherbaum are among the more expensive locations, while Eidelstedt, Lokstedt, Schnelsen and Stellingen are among the more affordable. By contrast, Hamburg's northeastern district of Wandsbek is still one of the least expensive places to buy a home. While there are with single-family houses and owner-occupied dwellings outliers upward actually only in the districts Wohldorf Ohlstedt and Volksdorf, particularly in Rahlstedt and Steilshoop still partial favorable opportunities can be found. The partly beautifully green, but fast-growing neighborhoods and so-called "Walddörfer" Bergstedt, Duvenstedt, Farmsen-Berne and Lemsahl-Mellingstedt in the far north are, however, usually very sought-after and thus again more expensive. Moderate to rising prices, on the other hand, are recorded in Bramfeld, Eilbek, Jenfeld, Marienthal, Poppenbüttel, Sasel, Tonndorf and Wellingsbüttel, where there are still relatively affordable properties, as in the large housing estate Tegelsbarg at Norbert-Schmid-Platz in Hummelsbüttel.

Short facts Real estate in Hamburg:

- Hamburg's good reputation is also noticeable in its real estate prices
- The city districts differ considerably in terms of their population structure
- Expensive are the center, all water locations and the west, cheaper is the east
- In the old town up to 8.000 euros/m² are demanded and paid
- Even once simple locations such as St. Pauli and St. Georg are becoming noticeably more expensive
- In Wilhelmsburg, the International Building Exhibition Hamburg is creating momentum
- In neighboring Veddel, too, construction projects of the IBA are contributing to the upgrading
- The district of Wandsbek currently offers the most favorable prices for residential property purchases.