Comission-free real estate directly from the owner in Sachsen-Anhalt

Rising prices at a low level: In Saxony-Anhalt, most real estate offers are brokered without an agent

Saxony-Anhalt, the federal state in the eastern center of Germany, has a variety of different landscapes and urban regions: From the culturally and historically interesting Altmark region in the north of the state to the agricultural Magdeburger Börde and the scenic Harz National Park to the industrial location between Halle, Merseburg and Bitterfeld-Wolfen. A good 2.2 million people live in Saxony-Anhalt, nearly 500,000 of them in the state's two largest cities, Halle an der Saale and Magdeburg. This makes Saxony-Anhalt one of the most sparsely populated German states - and the population continues to decline. In 2030, according to a forecast by the Bertelsmann Foundation, Saxony-Anhalt's population will have shrunk below the two-million mark. Experts also expect the population of the state capital Magdeburg to continue to decline, despite the fact that the old Hanseatic city on the Elbe, with its world-famous Magdeburg Cathedral, the renowned Otto von Guericke University, well-known industrial companies such as the machine and wind energy plant manufacturer SKET, and good rail and highway connections to the surrounding cities of Leipzig, Berlin and Hanover, among others, can offer its residents attractive job opportunities and a pleasant living environment. Another industrial center of the state is the so-called Bitterfeld-Wolfen Chemical Park with a total of around 11,000 jobs.Where theChemiekombinat Bitterfeld and the Filmfabrik Wolfen were once located, a large number of companies have now set up shop, including Bayer Bitterfeld GmbH and a production unit of the major gas producer Linde.

Relaxed housing market

Saxony-Anhalt is also attractive for its residents because of its relaxed real estate market. Take Halle an der Saale, for example: With a population of over 230,000, the state's largest city has also suffered from a decline in population in recent years - with a significant impact on the city's rental prices. Overcapacity in the housing market has meant that the city's average rents were a maximum of 5.28 euros per square meter, according to the official rent index of 2010 - but prices are now slowly rising in Halle, too. Now, according to the real estate portal immobilienscout24, tenants have to pay an average of 5.50 euros/square meter, which is still very reasonable compared to major cities in western Germany. Condominiums cost here favorable 1,350 euro/square meter, houses are to be had for the average price of 225,000 euro. And still another advantage expects the housing-looking for in resounds: The predominant majority of the real estates is offered here commission-free. This saves future tenants or buyers the broker's commission, and the provider of the property benefits from increasing numbers of interested parties with commission-free offers.

Broker commission? Almost unknown in Saxony-Anhalt

Other parts of the state of Saxony-Anhalt are also inexpensive places to live. The average price per square meter for a rental apartment varies between the old Hanseatic city of Salzwedel in the north, the Unesco World Heritage city of Quedlinburg in the Harz foothills, and the famous Bauhau city of Dessau, according to statistics from immobilienscout24.de, between 4.60 and 5.30 euros. In addition, the apartments in Saxony-Anhalt are almost always rented out without a real estate agent, private to private - something that real estate seekers in many large cities in western Germany can otherwise only dream of.

Living in Halle/Saale:

Source: immobilienscout24.de

Living in Altmarkkreis (Salzwedel)

Source: immobilienscout24.de

Development of the number of inhabitants in Halle compared to East German cities

Source: Study: Real Estate Market in Eastern German States and Berlin 2012/2013, prepared by DG HYP