BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The almost two-year decline in real estate prices in Germany has come to a halt, at least for the time being: According to data from the Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp), both residential and commercial real estate were slightly more expensive in the second quarter than in the first three months of this year. The vdp real estate price index rose by half a percent to 175.5 points, as the association announced in Berlin.

Pfandbrief banks: no turnaround yet

In recent days, the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken as well as the Kiel Institute for the World Economy have already proclaimed a turnaround on the real estate market, but the Pfandbrief banks are cautious in this regard. "It is still far too early to call for a trend reversal, but there are signs that the difficult situation is easing," said Managing Director Jens Tolckmitt. According to the association, the vdp index is based on transaction data from more than 700 credit institutions.

Mixed development in the seven largest cities

According to the index, apartments and residential buildings were half a percent more expensive in the second quarter than in the first, but 2.9 percent cheaper compared to the previous year. According to the vdp, the trend in the seven largest cities has been mixed so far this year: in Düsseldorf (-0.5%), Munich (-0.4%) and Stuttgart (-0.2%), prices continued to fall slightly from the first to the second quarter, while in Frankfurt am Main (+0.5%), Hamburg (+0.6%), Koln (+1.1%) and Berlin (+1.2%) they rose.

Unpleasant for tenants

On the other hand, there is still no talk of prices falling on the rental market: according to the vdp, new rents in apartment buildings were on average 6.1% more expensive nationwide in the second quarter than a year earlier, an increase of 1.4% compared to the first quarter.

Price expectations: sideways, not upwards

According to the vdp index, prices for offices and retail properties fell by 7.4% year-on-year, a much sharper decline than in the first quarter, with a slight increase of 0.4% from the first to the second quarter. Tolckmitt does not expect real estate prices to shoot up again overall, but rather to move sideways for a few quarters./cho/DP/mis