Real Estate Highlights July 2021

In many households, the kitchen table currently has an "almost stately infrastructural significance", as journalist Gerhard Matzig writes. Mr Güngörmüs, do you also own such a table, which has become the epicentre of your life during the pandemic?

A.G. Yes, for me too, the dining table is my favourite place to be, next to the couch. However, I am still on the road a lot, so I particularly enjoy the little time I have left within my own four walls.

And where, Mr. Riedel, does family life mainly take place at home in times of the home office?

M.R. As with most people, it's the kitchen and the adjoining dining area. My wife and I like to hang out around the cooking block - while our daughter dances in the middle.

Since Corona, the home has been booming like it probably hasn't since the Biedermeier era. How have your clients' needs changed in this last year? What role does the desire for one's own green play?

M.R. Of course, people want to go outside. Having your own balcony or garden is a big plus. Nevertheless, we are finding that more space is the more important criterion in purchasing decisions - a consequence of working in a home office. People want and need a room where they can participate in video conferences without being disturbed. The desire for more space, by the way, runs through the entire real estate market. People who have one-bedroom apartments are looking for two-bedroom apartments; people who live in two-bedrooms want three-bedrooms, etc. The biggest pressure we can see on the real estate market is in single-family homes. The demand for properties that have adequate space and a garden is enormous. Especially in the upscale segment, where we operate, the market is proving to be particularly stable.

How do you see the future development?

M.R. In fact, demand has picked up strongly again since last autumn. I am convinced that the current fears of inflation will continue to drive interest in real assets. In addition, those who have not been able to travel or go to restaurants are now spending their money elsewhere.

Have your housing requirements also changed over the past year?

M.R. Definitely yes. My wife and I are expecting our second child. When we bought an apartment two years ago, my wife got pregnant shortly after - and now that our daughter is having a sister, the nursery has become too small at only 9 square meters. So we sold our apartment again and looked for something new. With a garden - I think that's important when you have children.

Mr Güngörmüs, does your apartment have a terrace or balcony where you can grow herbs, vegetables or even fruit?

A.G . Yes, I have herbs, including rosemary and thyme, marjoram and mint, curry herb and coriander. Even strawberries grow on my patio. And then there's a peach tree, an apricot tree and a sour cherry tree.

What do you particularly like to cook for yourself at home? How much effort do you put into it?

A.G . Not very much. Making a pasta salad with avocado or feta cheese: That takes just 10 minutes. And an oven vegetable is ready in half an hour. You don't have to cook complicated to make it taste delicious. We professional chefs are satisfied with less than is commonly believed. Even with a simple meal, the most important thing is to use the very best ingredients and to eat according to the seasons. Vegetables and fruit that are in season and ideally from the region taste much better and are also cheaper.

What should your home have in any case?

A.G. Dimmable light! Different light sources create a wonderful atmosphere. Candles are a must for me.

As a guest in your restaurant "Pageou", you can experience how much warm, perfectly staged light creates a sense of well-being. The restaurant exudes a restrained yet sensual elegance. Does this clear style correspond to your personal taste in interior design?

A.G . Yes. What I like is lightness. I don't like it when walls are wallpapered with pictures and there's something in every corner of a room. That goes for my home as well as for Pageou, where we have added new interior accents. The best example is the Thonet cantilever chairs, which convey a great sense of lightness with their Viennese weave. I don't want to have a cool, thoroughly designed restaurant; that would be too cold for me. The way I live and work is the way I cook: the best of the simple - that's my philosophy.

What is your opinion of perfectly equipped high-tech kitchens, which have long since become a status symbol?

A.G. In the TV show "Koch's anders - Hessische Küche neu entdeckt" I am often a guest in private households. And it turns out that people who can cook well can get by without a steamer. Conversely, those who cook only rarely often have a full kitchen. Know-how is more important than technical equipment. It's the equipment that counts: decent pots and pans, high-quality knives, good peelers and cutting boards. My kitchenette at home is also simply equipped, but of high quality.

Your numerous TV appearances mean that you are frequently "on the road". Can a hotel ideally be a "home away from home" - or do you long for your own four walls during production days?

A.G. Of course it is nicest at home. When I have appointments in Hamburg, Berlin or Cologne, I try to fly back to Munich on the same day. Then I can be with my guests in the evening. I find the junk food that you often have to rely on when you're on the road an imposition. I'd rather cook myself a snack late in the evening on my return.

With "Ali to go", you entered the business with pick-up meals during the first lockdown. Not only your regulars must have been very happy about that.

A.G. takeaway meals can't replace the restaurant experience, of course. Even if you have to make certain sacrifices, the quality must not suffer under any circumstances. But now we are very happy to finally be able to welcome guests again after more than seven months of closure.

M.R. And I'm very happy to be able to meet friends in the beer garden, to have dinner with my wife. Our favourite restaurant? The Pageou, of course! On a Saturday afternoon I also like Schumann's Tagesbar.

Conversion of rental apartments into property: now subject to approval

The Building Land Mobilisation Act also adopts a ban on subdivision for all areas in Germany where the housing market is considered to be tight. The state governments will determine which these are. Owners of apartment buildings will then need a permit if they want to sell apartments individually. The list of cases in which permission for conversion must be granted includes, for example: a small number of residential units in the building, sale of 2/3 of the apartments to tenants, personal need or an economic emergency.

The Act also makes it easier for municipalities to exercise a right of first refusal. For this purpose, municipalities can refer to the market value when determining the price. Exceeding the market value when selling to a third party thus leads to a reduction of the purchase price in favour of the municipality.

In areas with a tight housing market, municipalities can oblige property owners to build on vacant land within a certain period of time. Exception: if, for example, the land is to serve the owners' retirement provision.

Further information:

BMI Bund