Real Estate News Online

Here you will find a great overview of our topics and other renowned online portals and newspapers for real estate news.

List from Real Estate News Online:

• Handelsblatt
• Real estate investor Alex Fischer
• Manager Magazine
• FIV Magazine / Real Estate
• Frankfurter Allgemeine
• Star
• Focus Online
• IM Real Estate Manager
• Haufe
• T-Online
• South German Newspaper
• Federal Gazette
• Berlin.de
• Real Estate Newspaper
• Mirror

New! Real estate Corona crisis: demand increases

These days, many are talking about the second wave that is now coming to Germany but also to the whole world. Already at the beginning, with the Corona pandemic, many economic but also financial news warned that in autumn a wave of insolvencies will come upon us. A logical consequence of insolvency is the loss of property, not only in the form of jewelry, cars or furnishings, of course real estate will also be affected if the rate of insolvencies in Germany increases. Single-family homes but also apartment buildings, with several tenants.

• Real estate Corona crisis: demand increases

News Special: News from Germany

Analyses and special articles by Stephan M. Czaja (Lukinski):

Sell house fast: Corona and the risk of insolvency

Investment Istanbul: Investing in Turkey?

Vonovia & Deutsche Wohnen in the DAX

Buy and rent in Berlin

Germany: Price Atlas Big City

Buying luxury real estate: Facts and prices

This is how Jeff Bezoz lives: richest man in the world

Corona: Is the real estate bubble bursting?

Coronavirus: meaning and onset

Investment: Real Estate, Shares & Co.

Real Estate Interviews

Current real estate interviews in the news:

Real estate as an investment: What to look out for?

Investing in real estate: Classic or exotic?

Is building saving worthwhile?

Investor Interviews: Videos

Intestate succession

In principle, the topic of “inheritance and estate” is always in good hands with a (specialist) lawyer. The construction of pre- and post-heirs is complicated. Nevertheless, there are a few easy-to-understand principles that every property owner should know and can also easily implement themselves. Here are some questions that come up again and again and which we will answer in the following.

• Pre-heir and post-heir – what is it all about?
• My mother is the previous heir. Is she allowed to sell her part of the house so easily?
• Is the owner (previous heir) entitled to sell the house without the consent of the subsequent heir or does the latter have to agree to the sale?
• I’m heir apparent, now what?
• House sale despite succession?

Pre-heir – post-heir: what does it mean?

Anyone who wants to bequeath something is free to determine the heirs and can therefore also transfer his or her inheritance to several persons in a staggered manner. The subsequent heir is then the person who receives the inheritance only after another person – the so-called previous heir – has previously inherited. The testator can, for example, choose an occasion or a point in time for the succession to occur, such as coming of age or passing the master’s examination.

The previous and subsequent heirs are both legal successors of the testator. However, they do not form a community of heirs in which they would inherit at the same time, but inherit one after the other due to the instigation of the testator.

Pre- and post-heirs for married couples – safeguarding assets in the family

The inheritance regulation by means of a pre- and post-heir is often used by married couples. In this way, they can ensure that all their joint assets remain in their own family. For this purpose, the spouses each name the other as a pre-heir and the joint children as a post-heir. Even in the event of remarriage after the death of one spouse, the assets cannot be inherited by the new spouse.

Pre-heirs – tasks, duties and rights

Pre-heirs are also referred to as ‘temporary heirs’. This is because they only have limited power of disposal over the estate. Particularly in the case of inherited real estate, this situation has consequences for both sides – i.e. the previous and subsequent heirs. First of all there is the inheritance tax. This is always payable initially by the previous heir.

• The previous heir must pay the inheritance tax from the funds of the previous inheritance.
• The previous heir is only the heir until the next of kin occurs.
• If a property is inherited and occupied by the previous and subsequent heirs themselves, no inheritance tax is payable
• The property must be owner-occupied for at least ten years after acceptance of the inheritance
• The owner-occupied living space must not exceed 200 sqm.
• Only then no inheritance tax is due

Statistics – Heritage in Germany

Read more facts and figures here: Real Estate Statistics. We also have other interesting studies, surveys and statistics on the topic: Inheritance in Germany.

Restriction of disposition – exceptions and rights of the previous heirs in real estate transactions

The previous heir cannot dispose freely of the estate. Inheritance law imposes certain restrictions on the disposal of the estate by the previous heir, because in the event of a subsequent inheritance, the assets should accrue to the subsequent heir undiminished. For example, the previous heir may not sell or give away any property from the estate without the consent of the subsequent heir. The previous heir may use other inheritance items for himself, but he is obliged to compensate the successor for the value of the item after the succession has occurred.

However, the testator may exempt the predecessor from many of these restrictions. This is then referred to as an exempt preheir. The “exempt estate” – which may then also include real estate – may be sold by the exempt previous heir alone, without having to obtain the consent of the subsequent heir.

Pre-inheritance & post-inheritance – advice from a lawyer

Broker tip: Watch out when buying inherited real estate

If a property from an estate is to be sold, there are many details to consider – for the seller and also for the buyer. At the latest here – after a lawyer has also been consulted for advice – the broker should come into play. The experts at Lukinski – Lukinski – have the necessary expertise to help with these complex issues.

Especially important: the real estate agent has the necessary distance to accurately determine the value of an inherited property. With inherited houses, money is often given away unnecessarily because the heir wants to get rid of his inherited property quickly. The opposite is also possible: so many memories and emotions are attached to the inherited house that the value is set too high. The property is then difficult to sell.

Find a broker as a pre-heir

Finding a broker as a pre-heir means paying attention to very special services. This is because the broker must be very familiar with the legal intricacies of succession and the connections between the pre- and post-heir.

Lukinski will perform for you as a pre-heir:

• The neutral valuation of your inherited property
• The professional sifting and arrangement of all documents from the inheritance necessary for the sale
• The professional and sales-promoting staging of your object (photos/videos)
• Your emotional state is given special consideration
• The proper creation of an appealing sales exposé
• The discreet placement of your property in all relevant media
• The analysis of our extensive customer file for suitable buyers
• The discreet organisation and execution of viewing appointments
• The discreet conduct of negotiations with prospective buyers (if desired, without your presence)
• Finalization of the purchase contract in cooperation with notaries

When will the broker be paid?

A reputable agent and real estate salesperson will only be paid upon a successful closing and will discuss their fee rate right at the beginning of the sales process. Openness and transparency are therefore fundamental criteria by which the house seller recognizes the good broker.

How much is inherited in Germany?

Here you can see inheritances and gifts in Germany. The survey ranges from 2008 to 2018 and shows that over 110,000 inheritances are distributed each year. Great potential for dispute if the community of heirs does not agree. Here you can find more interesting studies, surveys and statistics on the topic: Inheritance in Germany.

You can find more statistics at Statista

How much money is inherited?

Since 2014, Hamburg in particular has been at the top in Germany. Hamburg is currently at the top with 167.80 euros. In no other city is so much inherited. With a population share 2.19% of total Germany (1.82 million out of 82.79 million), a total volume of 305,731,600 euros is inherited annually.

• Population share Hamburg 2.19%
• Inheritance in Germany (comparison year) 109,635; statistically 2,401 inheritances in Hamburg
• Total inheritance (Hamburg / year) 305.731.600 Euro

You can find more statistics at Statista

Social ads, online advertising, ads in newspapers

On the other hand, not only the unit price plays a role in the choice of media, but also the quality. Of course, the individual person can be reached more cheaply via a Facebook ad than, for example, through a sales employee at the trade fair stand. At the same time, despite the lower reach of individual persons, the trade fair stand is much more profitable for some industries, as the individual contacts are of higher quality, because they are more intensive, and accordingly potentially bring in more sales. When deciding for or against a certain marketing campaign, the target group analysis is again decisive.

B2B or B2C advertising?

Do you want to reach private consumers or business customers?

Depending on that, you’ll choose to be pro Facebook Advertising or pro trade show, tackle both, or opt for a different strategy entirely. If we are within media advertising, the comparison between the different channels is especially important. What is the effectiveness of each campaign? The comparison is based on the CPM.

CPM – Thousand-Contact-Price

Media advertising is usually calculated using the CPM and compared with other campaigns. The CPM refers to the thousand-contact price. The CPM tells you how high the costs are for reaching 1,000 people. If you want to run a campaign to reach 5 million people, for example, you can use the CPM to compare the different offers. More on the CPM with best practice later in “Social Media”.

Tip. Social Media Advertising. Especially for young companies and startups, social media advertising is worth a look. While other, classic channels are often overbooked by brands and companies, for example because they are used to traditional advertising techniques. Thus, they often fall back on trade magazines and TV advertising. Accordingly, the costs for advertising placements are high because the competition is fierce. It is completely different in social media marketing, for example. Although more and more companies are discovering the social networks for their own marketing campaigns, very few companies use these methods, so it is still possible to run good campaigns, with low click prices and high conversion (we will also come to this technical term in the chapter on social media marketing). The second advantage, the media advertising does not have to be booked in a package. You only pay for the reach that was really generated.

Media advertising costs

There are two advantages to this. Firstly, you don’t have to pay for the big package straight away, you pay for the media advertising bit by bit. The much bigger advantage is that if a campaign doesn’t work, you can cancel it or change it. Of course, you can’t do that with media advertising in trade magazines or on TV. The magazines are printed, the TV program is scheduled. Now, if you’re paying to reach three million people and you realize at the beginning of the campaign that there’s hardly any return, you’ll be happy if you can still edit your campaign.

Advantage Digital Media

Over the course of the business, you’ll learn a lot of marketing strategies. For your business plan, we’ll look at the most important, overarching strategies for attracting customers, from offline to online.

Mailing and direct mail: Classic

Mailings and direct mail are still central tools in marketing today, despite laws against mass mailing of information, sending emails and direct mail in the mailbox is still commonplace. Of course, the ratio of email to direct mail has changed dramatically, but letters are still in vogue. Even modern startups use classic letters, because that’s how you can create awareness again. The less the method junk mail use, the more attractive listening test again to create attention. In your company, you’ll also get regular ads for new mail products. The last one that stuck in my mind was a letter that had a pop up box in it. Of course, when you open the letter, you don’t know that yet. As soon as you open the letter, the box unfolds and literally pops up in your face. Never seen before, ingenious! Whoever has the right idea around the box, e.g. a booth builder, has a great tool to creatively win customers or to bind them again.

Guidebook: Setting up your own business & business plan

You want to start your own business as a real estate agent or with another business idea? We support you with tips on your business plan and concept. Whether self-employed full-time or part-time self-employed: If you want to start your own business, you have to think about many things, in advance and in the operational business. From the right idea to health insurance – what do you have to consider when you want to become self-employed?

There is no education or training for entrepreneurs. One is or is not a managing director. What is always important is your own ambition, because that is the only way to improve every day.

The topics at a glance:

1. Business Plan
2. Founder and founding team
3. Product / Service: USP
4. Increase customer satisfaction
5. Market Overview: Customers & Competition
6. Reference customers: Positive image transfer
7. Market analysis / validation: business idea
8. Site selection
9. Marketing concept: Sales
10. Advertising: Google Ads, SEO, Newspaper, Radio?
11. Marketing: Media advertising, costs and CPM
12. Marketing: trade fairs, training courses and trade advertising
13. Marketing: sales talk, telephone call and psychology
14. Marketing: promotions, discounts and special offers
15. Marketing: Social Media and Online Advertising
16. E-business: electronic commerce in the enterprise
17. Cooperations: Cooperative Principle
18. Financial planning: capital and financing

Here you come back to the overview:

• Form a company
• Legal forms: OHG, KG, GmbH, AG & Co.

Advertising: Making products and services known

The big question now is how do customers learn about your product or service? The possibilities are extremely diverse, from classic flyers, YouTube advertising, poster campaigns on citylights to classic letter items. But which method and strategy is the most effective for you to generate more reach?

Before we take a detailed look at the individual methods, here are the two central questions on the point of advertising:

1. How do your customers find out about your product / service?
2. What advertising do you plan when?
   → There are hundreds of options
   Flyer: 54 Euro
   Mirror print advertisement: 25.000 Euro (1 page)
   Google Ads: 3,14 Euro per click
   City Lights: 80,000 euros for 4 weeks / 1 city
   SEO advertising agency: 120.000 Euro
   …

How extensive advertising can be! Accordingly, you need to choose strategies that fit your budget. In the next chapter we will look at how exactly the individual advertising measures work and function.

Goal: increase reach, increase awareness

Winning customers is the never-ending-story of every company. Growth is, of course, the ultimate goal. Once the market is saturated, it becomes horizontal or vertical in breadth, with product extensions and completely new product innovations. Good to see at the world’s most valuable company that has conquered the world with smartphones, previously a portable MP3 player, before with computers. Today there are tablets, matching headphones but also accessories for the technical devices. Accordingly, the customer group is constantly being expanded. In addition, there are old appliances that are offered at lower prices and the customer group is being expanded. So you are permanently in a process of customer acquisition.

Awareness takes time: How long does advertising take?

In the beginning it is of course more difficult, because first you have to be convinced of the new brand or the new product. Anyone who already owns a similar product must not only be convinced by the new brand, but also by changing. After all, we humans like habits and are reluctant to change them as long as they do not negatively influence us. Accordingly, a strategy must be found that ensures sufficient range, one-time contacts but also recurring contacts. Because in particular frequent naming, ensures that marks remain in the memory.

Medium and advertising channel: Differences

However, depending on the medium and advertising channel, the prices vary extremely. In addition, you must distinguish between paid range and organic range. Paid reach is available overnight, but not sustainably and with each new contact, associated with new costs. Organic reach, e.g. through search engine optimization or community building in social networks, lasts longer, but provides accordingly sustainable reach and visitors.

Then there are not only the numerous new media, but of course also the classic advertising channels, from mailings to sales promotion through documents, image brochures and sales representatives. Let’s take a closer look at the various possibilities that are available today in the field of advertising. Here is an initial overview of the various customer acquisition instruments:

1. Media advertising
2. Trade fairs, presentations, conferences and congresses
3. Information, training, trade advertising
4. Sales talk
5. Mailing, Throws
6. Telephone calls
7. Sales promotion, sales documents
8. Merchandising
9. Promotions, discounts, special offers
10. Exclusive offers
11. Additional services
12. Guarantees, Service
13. Internet
14. Social Media Marketing
15. …

Customer care in the business plan

How do you get across in your business plan that you not only reach your customers once, but ideally can show more frequent contacts?

Ideally, you will need regular customers, i.e. people who access your product more frequently. So in this aspect, think about how you can give customers an added value that keeps them with you as a brand, product or service. These include, for example, the above-mentioned additional services or the Extra Guarantee and Extra Services. But it also includes a sensible product extension, so that the right accessories are always available. No matter what the subject, interior design and living, trend products and fashions, Auto & Tuning or even hotels and restaurants. In all areas, useful additional services can be found that turn customers into regular customers.

Subsequent bookings make a lot of work easier and of course save a lot of media budget. Because no investment has to be made for the renewed purchase. Everything you need to know: home buying tips. This also pleases bankers and investors.

Recommendation Marketing: Actively Obtain Ratings

Tip! Actively obtain ratings. Write to customers, three to five days after the purchase, and ask them for their opinion. Ideally with a link to a relevant rating portal. For Amazon buyers this means Amazon, of course, and for many others Google and Facebook. A positive rating (recommendation marketing) is extremely efficient. In addition, the customer feels valued by the demand and is reminded again of your brand.

Exclusive offers

If we think further, such customer loyalty naturally also leads to further investments for public relations, e.g. events. Many companies hold regular events to attract audiences (and regular customers). The event in the fashion boutique, the training event of the handicraft producer or also the trainee and job event of the local energy supplier. Such strategies can also be used to retain customers. Here we are again at the marketing tool “Exclusive Offers”.

Take care of long-term business relationships and show in your business plan how you will do this strategically.

1. Reward for loyalty
2. Reward for recommendation
3. Demand

Guideline: Setting up your own business & business plan

You want to start your own business as a real estate agent or with another business idea? We support you with tips on your business plan and concept. Whether self-employed full-time or part-time self-employed: If you want to set up your own company, you have to think about a lot, in advance and in the operative business. From the right idea to health insurance – what needs to be considered if you want to become self-employed?

There is no training or further education for entrepreneurs. Managing director is you or not. Your own ambition is always important, because this is the only way to improve, every day.

The topics at a glance:

Real estate magazines in Germany: 4 recommendations

1. Real estate newspaper
2. Real estate experience
3. House building magazine
4. Real estate professional

Real estate newspaper

Immobilien Zeitung is a leading trade journal for the real estate industry in Germany. It offers the latest news, analyses and reports on various aspects of the real estate business.

• Topics: Latest news, analyses, reports from the real estate industry
• Real estate newspaper

Real estate experience

Immobilien-Erfahrung.de is one of the largest knowledge portals for real estate. Everything for beginners, but also for professionals who want to calculate every penny before investing. Try our real estate calculator.

• Topics: Latest news, Real estate as an investment, Financing, Management
• Real estate experience

House building magazine

Hausbau Magazin focuses on construction and renovation projects for owner-occupied homes. It offers inspiration, tips and advice for builders and renovators.

• Topics: Building and renovation projects, inspiration, tips and advice
• House building magazine

Real estate professional

IMMOBILIEN PROFI is a trade magazine aimed at real estate experts and investors. It offers insights into trends, analyses and developments on the real estate market.

• Topics: Trends, analyses, developments on the real estate market
• REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL

Immobilien Magazine International: 13 recommendations

1. Property Week
2. Architectural Digest
3. FIV Magazine
4. The Real Deal
5. Estate Gazette
6. ImmoCompact
7. Zillow Premier Agent
8. Realtor.com
9. Redfin
10. Trulia
11. HomeAdvisor
12. Houzz
13. Idealista

Property Week

Property Week is a weekly magazine and online platform for real estate professionals in the UK. It provides news, opinion and analysis from the real estate industry.

• Topics: News, opinions, analysis from the British real estate industry
• Property Week

Architectural Digest

Architectural Digest is a magazine that specializes in design and architecture. It provides inspiration for real estate projects and showcases impressive architecture and interiors.

• Topics: Design, architecture, real estate projects, interior design
• Architectural Digest

FIV Magazine

If you want a little more lifestyle and not just dry numbers, you will find simple guides for real estate beginners on FIV Magazine. For your dream home or your first investment.

• Topics: First property, furnishing and investment for beginners
• FIV Magazine

The Real Deal

The Real Deal is an online platform that provides comprehensive reporting and analysis on the real estate industry in the USA. It provides information on current developments and trends.

• Topics: Reporting, analysis, trends in the US real estate industry
• The Real Deal

Estate Gazette

Estate Gazette is a British magazine and online platform specializing in commercial real estate. It offers comprehensive reporting and analysis.

• Topics: Commercial real estate, reporting, analyses
• Estate Gazette

ImmoCompact

ImmoCompact is a German online magazine that reports on current developments in the real estate industry. It provides compact information and news.

• Topics: Current developments, news in the real estate industry
• ImmoCompact

Zillow Premier Agent

Zillow Premier Agent is a paid subscription service that provides real estate agents with enhanced advertising opportunities on the Zillow platform.

• Topics: Extended advertising options on Zillow
• Zillow Premier Agent

Realtor.com

Realtor.com is an online platform that provides real estate listings and useful resources for home buyers and sellers.

• Topics: Real estate listings, resources for home buyers and sellers
• Realtor.com

Redfin

Redfin is a real estate buying and selling website and app that provides useful data and tools for homebuyers.

• Topics: Buying and selling real estate, data and tools
• Redfin

Trulia

Trulia is an online real estate listing platform and resource for home buyers and sellers.

• Topics: Real estate listings, resources for home buyers and sellers
• Trulia

HomeAdvisor

HomeAdvisor is a subscription service that provides homeowners with access to handyman services and remodeling resources.

• Topics: Craft services, renovation resources
• HomeAdvisor

Houzz

Houzz is a platform that specializes in interior design and home improvement and provides inspiration for homeowners.

• Topics: Interior design, DIY, Inspiration for homeowners
• Houzz

Idealista

Idealista is an online platform for real estate ads in various European countries.

• Topics: Real estate ads in Europe
• Idealista

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• Real Estate Newsletter