PROGEDO presents: Cologne
Cologne real estate market
Dare to have an affair
Under no circumstances does anyone in Cologne live on the right bank of the Rhine. But that's history. The modern Cologne resident, or newcomer to Cologne, is surprisingly turning his attention to formerly lower-middle-class neighborhoods like Deutz, Kalk, or Mülheim, and daring to venture out. And suddenly, Deutz and Mülheim are among the sought-after neighborhoods with rising rents. "Deutz has become a trendy neighborhood," says Thomas Tewes, General Manager of the Cologne House and Property Owners Association. Apparently, the ironclad principle that one should live west of the Rhine, i.e., on the left bank, still applies in Cologne. The "Schäl Sick," as the right bank is known locally, will not manage to emancipate itself.
Mülheim & Co. are on the rise
Between 2009 and 2012, 1,349 new apartments were completed here alone. Around Schanzenstrasse, TV production companies, advertising agencies, and media outlets found a new home in the "creative quarter." Employees, who are significantly more affluent than the long-time residents, are now flocking to the district. Naturally, investors and speculators immediately follow the creative caravan when a district undergoes restructuring and rents rise rapidly. The real estate industry is also optimistic near Porz in the southeast, with parts of Wahnheide and Lind benefiting from their proximity to the airport. Even a "Veedel" with a dubious reputation, dominated by industry until recently, is coming onto the scene: Kalk. There is particular potential in the south of the district, according to Roland Kampmeyer, owner of the real estate agency of the same name. Completion of residential properties is high: between 2009 and 2012, 1,468 units were built here alone.
This is leveling off…
By 2020, Cologne's population will increase by 50,000 to just under 1.1 million. Migration gains will primarily be among young people who need affordable housing. Unlike Düsseldorf, more than 3,000 new apartments will be needed each year just to compensate for immigration. Since another 40,000 new Cologne residents could arrive by 2030, the completion of new residential areas must begin as quickly as possible. Currently, the figure is well below this. The city is determined to close the gap that is widening. But Cologne does not want to strengthen its surrounding areas and is focusing on densification, meaning the gap is to be closed close to the city center. In addition, at least 30 percent of social housing must be built for a minimum of 20 residential units. In Düsseldorf, the figure is 20 percent – and that only starts with 100 residential units.
Desperately seeking building land
Cologne's Office for Urban Development and Statistics is frantically searching for land for 10,000 apartments. Department head Höinig has therefore initiated a kind of dragnet search: Investigators and planners are meticulously scouring the city and immediately raising the alarm about brownfield sites, vacant lots, rooftops with potential for development, and sparsely built-up plots that could accommodate additional buildings. Even the roof of a parking garage has been given the honor of housing 36 condominiums: On Magnusstraße, a busy east-west axis between Friesenplatz and the cathedral, the parking garage was renovated, reduced by two floors, and then residential floors were added above. Two almost forgotten projects that are now being revived are the conversion of the port areas in Deutz and Mülheim into residential quarters. The model is the Rheinauhafen with its crane houses. However, the project is not intended to create luxury quarters.
Luxury à la Cologne
Where Hans Gerling and his insurance company once resided, the cathedral city now boasts a new luxury quarter, the "Gerling Quarter," a prestige property owned by the Austrian investor Immofinanz. Buyers of an apartment in the building have to make do without a "Küdchen," as the locals call their corner kiosk, after shelling out €5,000 per square meter. Well, they're sure to find one somewhere in the Friesenviertel, somewhere between Hohenzollernring, Friesenstrasse, and Christophstrasse. The buyer of the 330-square-meter penthouse is unlikely to be found in the kiosk: He beat out two other bidders for the property with a bid of almost €6 million.
What can you get for ten to twelve euros? The best of Cologne…
Overall, Cologne is more expensive than its reputation: in 2012, the rent index was higher than in Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Berlin, or Dresden. Only Munich and Stuttgart were more expensive than the cathedral city. Cologne's top locations are Altstadt and Neustadt Nord, Bayenthal, Bickendorf, Klettenberg, Lindenthal, Marienburg, Braunsfeld, and Zollstock, with cold rents of around 12 euros. Rents cost around 11 euros per square meter in Raderberg, Riehl, Sülz, Altstadt and Neustadt Süd, Ehrenfeld, Neuehrenfeld, Rodenkirchen, Deutz, Lövenich, Müngersdorf, and Niehl. Nippes, Weidenpesch, Widdersdorf, Bilderstöckchen, Longerich, Mülheim, Ossendorf, Poll, Sürth, Vogelsang, and Weiden are in the 10-euro league. In all other "Cologne neighborhoods," apartments are available for an average of 9 euros per square meter or less. For new buildings, you should expect a surcharge of 20 to 25 percent everywhere, as well as for excellently renovated old buildings.
In the surrounding areas within a 30-kilometer radius, however, prices are falling. This phenomenon is also familiar in Düsseldorf. Commuting costs a lot of money and patience. Public transport and roads are congested, and gasoline remains expensive in the long term. In the Oberberg region, for example, construction activity is stalling. Cologne's purchasing power is apparently not penetrating there, and the population is declining. But where transport connections are particularly good, the suburbs also benefit considerably. Therefore, lively demand for real estate and housing can be found in Hürth, Alfter, Niederkassel, and Frechen. Other parts of the Rhein-Sieg district and the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, including Dormagen and Neuss, are also benefiting.