Living in Potsdam: narrow market with space in the surrounding area

Emblematic of the nevertheless scarce supply of housing is the fact that the last building plot on Georg-Hermann-Allee is now being built on. There, BRAWO RE Development Berlin GmbH is building an ensemble in three construction phases by 2028 according to the plans of Hilmer Sattler Architekten. The ParkVillen Potsdam consist of seven representative buildings with a total of 67 condominiums and 53 rental apartments as well as six commercial units, which are marketed by Strategis AG. The current second construction phase comprises 42 condominiums with two to four rooms. The apartments offer spacious floor plans, room heights of 2.80 m, oak parquet flooring, underfloor heating, high-quality sanitary equipment, FTTH fibre optic connections, private outdoor areas and parking spaces with e-charging station pre-installation.

"From the ongoing marketing of the 67 condominiums, we can confirm a stable and increasing demand for condominiums," says Sascha Nöske, CEO of Strategis AG. "Specifically, we have so far achieved notarized purchase prices of between 6,900 and 8,900 euros per square meter and absolute purchase prices of between 480,000 and 1 million euros in the project." With the start of construction by the Züblin general contractor in mid-April, the project is entering a new phase. "You can see very clearly from the course of events that pre-sales before the actual start of construction and new-build sales with the usual completion times of 18 to 24 months are working again even in the current challenging market environment, if the framework conditions and the supply are right." For the 53 predominantly compact rental apartments, Strategis AG forecasts a start of letting in 2027 and completion of the entire project in 2028.

First Wohnbau GmbH is expanding its services in the Potsdam area directly at Beelitz Stadt station, about 30 minutes from Potsdam's main train station. There, the residential subsidiary of immobilien-experten-ag. a 3.4-hectare building plot at the landscape conservation area into a quarter with a differentiated range of fully developed building plots, semi-detached houses, terraced houses and apartments in apartment buildings.

At the moment, the second construction phase with 18 semi-detached houses is under construction and marketing. The units divided in real terms measure 119 or 141 square metres of living space plus a garden on plots between 260 and 360 square metres and are offered turnkey from 535,000 euros. "The interested parties for this offer come mainly from Potsdam, the Potsdam area and Berlin. The asparagus town of Beelitz is particularly attractive to young families," says Mareike Lechner, CEO of immobilien-experten-ag. This was already evident in the first construction phase and the sale of the 17 developer-free plots. Long sales periods for two 160-square-metre semi-detached houses also confirm the current cost awareness of the target group. "With a view to the budgets of our customers and in view of the development of construction costs in recent months and years, we have decided to adjust the offer towards compact terraced houses," says Lechner. "In the next step, our current planning is based on 16 terraced houses with 85 square meters of living space plus an attic that can still be expanded, as well as 15 terraced houses with 105 square meters of living space."

So far, First Home Wohnbau GmbH has concentrated on owner-occupiers as buyers. Due to increasing demand, the group of buyers is now being expanded to include investors who rent out the residential units and appreciate tax savings. In this context, when planning the terraced houses, it is checked whether the increased EH 40 energy standard with QNG to receive the five percent special depreciation against the background of the associated additional costs for the developer.

A greater relief of the tense Potsdam housing market is to be expected, among other things, from the completion of the Kirchsteigfeld. The area between Ricarda-Huch-Straße and A 115, which is located in the southeast of Potsdam and is not yet developed, covers about nine hectares. With up to 1,600 new jobs and around 1,000 apartments, a wide range of housing options for around 1,900 residents can be created on the project site. "Construction can start in 2027," says Dr. Simon Kempf, Managing Director of Periskop Development GmbH, which is developing the property on behalf of the owners and is currently in talks with several partners regarding the structural implementation and financing of the project.

The basis for the planning is the design by the architects Krier & Kohl from the 1990s for the entire Kirchsteigfeld, of which the first construction phase with 2,680 apartments was completed by 1998. "In the given urban structure, a contemporary and at the same time sustainable mix of uses of 60 percent residential and 40 percent commercial is to be created," says Kempf. "Since all essential questions about design and planning have been clarified since 2023, the city of Potsdam has proposed to apply the construction turbo to the Kirchsteigfeld, which can significantly accelerate the planning once again." In view of this strong commitment, he is confident that the planned 1,000 additional apartments can be completed in a manageable period of time and offered at a price level affordable for the population of Potsdam.