The CEO of the real estate group Vonovia, Rolf Buch, does not expect real estate prices to fall despite rising interest rates. “The vacancy rate in the cities is low. I’ve rarely seen prices drop when demand is higher than supply,” said Buch of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”.
“Of course we won’t see the increases in value of the past few years anytime soon, but the values will remain largely stable,” added Buch. The fact that the price of Vonovia shares fell so sharply in the year that is coming to an end is due to investors from Anglo-Saxon countries. They would be more afraid of a price drop, Buch said.
Construction projects are currently unattractive because construction costs, interest rates and building standards have risen. “That’s why building isn’t worth it – neither modernization nor new construction.”
He called on the federal government not to tighten the energy standards beyond the efficiency house standard 55, which will become mandatory for new buildings in 2023. “Everything beyond that is very expensive and no longer effective.”
