Germany Yearbook 2008 - From the Editors

From the Editor
A variety of places Welcome, dear reader, to the second edition of the Germany Real Estate Yearbook of Real Estate Publishers. On the following 320 pages we will provide you with an overview of recent real estate topics, locations, projects and industry trends as well as a variety of Corporate Stories, Who’s Who profiles and maps. I’m often asked the question at international conferences and fairs: “And what about the German market?” My answer is usually: “Germany does not exist.” Of course, Germany exists as a nation. It exists with its GDP and other fi gures, with its political hopes and problems, with its tax and law frameworks, but if we look at the real estate industry, my response is: “What shall we talk about? Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt or some of the others?” Because, in complete contrast to the UK, France and some other European countries, Germany is not centralized. Politically, this can also be seen in our 16 Lander, all with their own capital, laws and competences, and all including very different cities and regions. The real estate markets in all of these locations also differ from each other, whether we are talking about developments, investments, locations or market segments . Of course, some general trends occur everywhere, but in actuality the international player coming to Germany should be aware of this variety. And with this book we have tried to clarify these differences, but of course we could not pay attention to every single place and project. Compared to last year, when our fi rst Germany Real Estate Yearbook was published, investments were and are still increasingly purchased in the so-called B- and Ccities, sometimes even in smaller places. This is not only due to some huge portfolio deals, but also to the never-ending appetite of international investors for real estate in Germany. In fact the Jackie Leven song “I’ve been everywhere”, a Germany-dedicated version of the old Johnny-Cash-song comes to mind. However, we have not been everywhere, but have still managed to include many places as well as a great deal of editorial information in addition to the locations. When saying “we” this means the huge team of authors who have contributed to this book, as well as all the others involved. Book publishing is team work, and therefore the fi rst big “thank you” goes to every contributor. Another big “thank you” is to all who have supported this book, either through advertisements, fact sheets or company profi les. And fi nally “thank you” to all whohave come along with congratulations as well as criticism, with attention and new ideas. Let us, hopefully, continue this way.
Andreas Schiller Editor-in-Chief October 2007