Which properties in Düsseldorf have become cheaper

The expert committee has evaluated the summer months and shows how expensive apartments and houses have become. An overview of the development of the Düsseldorf real estate market.

Property prices have continued to fall in recent months. In most segments, the level is below that of 2021, as determined by the expert committee for the period from May to the end of August on the basis of concluded purchase contracts. Thomas Weindel, chairman of the expert committee: "Overall, the market is showing a clear downward trend.

This is particularly evident in apartments in post-war buildings (built up to 2009). With 442 sales from May to August, these properties were by far the most frequently sold (the figures for new builds and pre-war buildings are in double figures), which makes the analysis particularly meaningful. The average price for the year to date was 4400 euros, from June to August it fell further to 4200 and most recently even to 4000 euros per square meter. However, the monthly values fluctuate greatly and should therefore be treated with caution.

The annual average value for 2021 of €4,600 is currently significantly undercut. The gap to the record highs at the beginning of the previous year, when €5,200 was reached, is enormous. At that time, the annual average was €5,000 per square meter.

For context: annualized prices have fallen by twelve percent compared to the record level. This is not a collapse in real estate prices. Especially as apartments and houses have sold for far more than twice as much in ten years. In 2010, the "typical purchase price range" for apartments in post-war buildings constructed before the turn of the millennium was between €980 and €2,400 per square meter, according to the expert committee. As recently as 2015, the annual average price paid was no more than 2,500 euros.

Price declines can now also be observed for new-build apartments. Recently, the number of sales in this segment slumped particularly sharply, with sellers apparently unwilling to accept discounts and buyers no longer willing to pay the prices being asked. But after this standstill, things are starting to move. From May to August, prices fell to as low as 6,000 euros per square meter. Last year, the annual average was just under €7,000 per square meter; from January to August of this year, it was €6,600, which is the same level as in 2021. Prices in older buildings are still slightly higher than in post-war buildings, but the percentage declines are similar. While almost €6,000 per square meter still had to be paid in 2022, this year it is only €5,250.

Terraced houses also cost slightly less again than in 2021, when they were still over €4,500 per square meter, but are now just below this threshold. Compared to the previous year, this is around ten percent less. Prices for detached single-family homes have fallen more significantly, by around 15 per cent, from €6500 (2022) to €5500 per square meter.

With prices relatively high but construction costs and interest rates on loans having risen significantly, there is still a great deal of restraint on the real estate market. The number of purchases from May to August was 19 percent below the previous year's figure.

The exciting question is how prices will continue to develop. The evaluation of asking prices from Immobilienscout could provide some clues. A calming trend has recently been observed there. Nothing changed in Düsseldorf from the second to the third quarter. The portal has also noted an increase in demand. Although this and the significantly lower level of new construction activity argue against a further fall in prices, the scope for downward negotiations is likely to be greater at present, meaning that different sums can be paid than those shown on the portal. However, the average value of EUR 4281 per square meter for apartments in existing buildings is in line with the information provided by the expert committee.

Gesa Crockford, Managing Director of Immoscout24, summarizes: "It can be assumed that prices will continue to fluctuate slightly in both directions. However, I do not expect prices to fall significantly, as demand for housing is increasing and too little is being built."

Source: Rheinische Post, 05.11.2023