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Munich at high risk of housing bubble: report

Considering buying property in Munich? This report might make you think twice.

Munich at high risk of housing bubble: report
A view of Munich. Photo: Pexels.com

Swiss investment bank UBS wrote in a new report on Tuesday that the Bavarian capital had the fifth most overvalued property market in the world, while also considering Frankfurt properties to be bad investments.

Vancouver was considered to have the biggest property bubble, followed by London.

The report examined 18 cities around the world and concluded that six of them were at risk of a housing bubble. Making up the rest of the top-six were Stockholm, Sydney and Hong Kong.

It noted that low interest rates in Europe had contributed to an “overheating” of markets for urban residential properties, particularly in London, Stockholm, Munich and Zurich.

“Germany’s economic boom and very expansionary monetary policy ended 20 years of real house price stagnation in 2010. Subsequently, Munich property prices rose by double digits and have increasingly lost touch with economic fundamentals,” said the report, noting that it now takes a skilled-service worker seven work years to buy a 60 square-metre flat – “an all time high”.

A little further north, in Germany’s finance capital on the Main river, property prices are also once again on the rise.

“Following a breather in 2013, Frankfurt too is showing clear signs of picking up momentum,” the report states.

It goes on to warn that it is impossible to predict exactly when a “correction” will take place in the markets.

“A sharp increase in supply, higher interest rates or shifts in the international flow of capital could trigger a major price correction at any time,” it states.

Over the past year Munich's real estate prices in Munich – already the highest in Germany – have continued to rise sharply.

Whereas in October 2015 a 60 square-metre apartment cost €6,200 per square-metre, those buying now will have to dish out €6,700 on average, according to online real estate agent Immowelt.de.

In Frankfurt prices have changed relatively little, rising moderately from €3,500 per square-metre to €3,600 in the same period.

In Berlin, property prices still remain well under half those in Munich. A 60 square-metre apartment in the German capital would currently set a wannabe homeowner back €3,100 on average.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

How installing solar panels at home is set to become easier in Germany

As part of its drive to roll out renewable energy, Germany has passed a new law that will make it easier to install solar panels on your balcony. Here's what homeowners and renters need to know.

How installing solar panels at home is set to become easier in Germany

With rising prices affecting almost every area of life, many people are looking for ways to cut costs wherever they can. 

When it comes to electricity, this could include looking at renewable options like installing solar panels on your balcony.

According to data from the Federal Network Agency’s Market Data Register, this is an increasingly popular choice. As of April 2nd this year, there were around 400,000 balcony solar units in operation in Germany, compared to just 230,000 in the summer of last year.

These little photovoltaic systems can be a great way to become more self-sufficient by producing your own energy for the home – but despite the benefits, you may have been put off by fears of mountains of paperwork and an uncertainty around the rules.

READ ALSO: How to install a solar panel on your balcony in Germany (even if you rent)

The government’s new Solar Energy Package, passed on Friday, aims to solve this issue by making it simpler for people in apartments or single-family homes to install solar panels and use their own energy.

It’s part of a major drive to roll out renewable energy in Germany, pushing up photovoltaic capacity from 7.5 gigawatts in 2022 to 22 gigawatts in 2026 and ultimately 215 gigawatts by 2030. 

But what exactly is changing for homeowners and renters? Here’s what we know so far.

Streamlined registration process

Rather than having to register with your local network operator when installing solar panels on your balcony, in future simply registering with the Federal Network Agency’s Market Data Register will suffice. This streamlined process has been in place since April 1st, 2024. 

Increased capacity allowance

Solar devices installed in the home are allowed to be more powerful in future. If your future device has an installed output of up to 2 kilowatts and an inverter output of up to 800 volt-amperes in total, you can register it quickly in a simple and unbureaucratic registration process.

Previously, devices were only allowed an inverter output of up to 600 volt-amperes. 

No barriers on meters

In a transitional measure designed to encourage more people to switch to solar energy, balcony installations can be run through any type of meter on the market.

Solar panels on a German balcony

Solar panels on a balcony in Germany. The government is making it easier for people to produce – and use – their own solar energy. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/iStock.comMaryanaSerdynska | Maryana Serdynska

This includes meters without a backstop, which run backwards when more energy is produced than is used. These, alongside normal one-way meters with a backdrop, will be permitted for a limited time until modern digital meters can be installed. 

Under previous rules, both older types of meter were prohibited. 

Simpler energy storage

In future, balcony solar systems will be able to store energy with a conventional shockproof plug. This will make installation way easier than it was before.

READ ALSO: German government to subsidise up to €30,000 of heating revamp costs

Easier operation of multi-unit buildings

To enable tenants in apartment blocks to use cheaper solar power from roofs, garages or battery storage systems directly, the new instrument of “communal building supply” is being introduced. This eliminates the complicated requirement to feed energy into the general electricity grid and permits residents to use the energy generated themselves.

In future, tenants will also be able to take out an affordable supplementary tariff themselves for electricity that is not covered by their solar installation. Some rules on this still need to be clarified though, so watch this space. 

Tenant subsidies in commercial buildings

In future, tenant electricity will also be subsidised for commercial buildings and ancillary facilities such as garages if the electricity generated there is consumed immediately, i.e. without being fed through the grid.

This allows several energy systems to be combined and should avoid the overwhelming technical barriers that were previously a problem in residential neighbourhoods. 

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