One year later…1 candle on the cake!

One year ago we started this blog. Two main reasons: to report about our “flat in Berlin” experience. And to keep track of our renovation adventure, which had just started and needed a bit of a public kick – an official timekeeper online!

One year later, we are going to spend soon our first ever real holiday in our flat in Berlin, having dedicated 1/4 of our weekends in the past 12 months to blitz-trips to Berlin in order to follow the renovation works, sort out paperwork, choose tiles, buy furniture and make the flat feel like our home in Berlin.

One year later, and 3/4 of a global financial crisis later, we’re happy about our choice. It is true, other real estate markets plunged so deep that now there are several “cheap” real estate markets in the world. But we were not just looking for a bottom-fishing real estate opportunity, we wanted something very specific: an apartment with good bones in Schöneberg at a reasonable price, not a seaside flat in Spain or a maisonette in England. In the meantime, garage prices in Rome plunged by 3%. Maybe the Italian real estate market will undergo a correction one day, but the reality is, a 1-car garage in Rome still costs more than a flat in one of the nicest areas of Berlin. Period.

Iconic German brands of the 60s and 70s

Coming back from Berlin, after my first research on how to furnish the little 60s flat, I found myself brainstorming and scribbling on the back of my easyjet ticket the list of my very first German brands.Those I remember from my childhood.

I realized the list is long. German brands dominated the domestic and school domains. But which was the very first one? For me there is no doubt. Even before I was able to read, I started recognizing one logo as quintessentially German. It was on a magnificent recipe book, with pages in pastel hues and gorgeous black and white photos of cakes looking very elaborated and exotic. It was this one.

The first day of school brought with it other German brands, like Pelikan…Then many others follow in my childhood list. But what’s the first German iconic brand you recall from your own childhood?

A little cub

We warned you.

There were early signs of a little crush for small rational flats of the 1950s-60s. So we did it. Our serious and responsible Altbau flat has now a little sister, a 1958 Marshall plan flat, just nearby, in leafy Schöneberg. The little cub is playful and cuddly…

Real estate prices across Europe

And today’s most popular article in the Financial Times is…

“House prices slide hits recovery hopes”.

Play around with the interactive charts, plotting against each other the price developments across different EU countries. A live audio comment is also available on the website, commenting specifically the quite different trends among UK, Germany, Austria… quarterly data since 2000 or annual data since 1970.

At first sight, it seems that at end 2007 the German market (existing homes) was at its most depressed level ever since 2000, and with Austria and Norway it was one of the few to remain flattish-slightly up while the crisis unfolded. Fingers crossed. Touch wood.

user friendly?

It is always difficult to figure out the exact ergonomics of a living space, first on the paper with the architect project, then when you do some little changes as work unfolds. Again when you have to furnish the place and imagine how you will move around in the house.

This week A flat in Berlin underwent its user friendliness test. Even more demanding: a”friend friendliness” test!

Friends flocking to the city for the Bread and Butter fashion week stayed at our flat. Rome’s monsoon season was responsible for their adventurous arrival in Berlin at 2am at Schönefeld, but eventually the ladies were able to take a well-deserved night’s sleep in quiet Schöneberg, before tackling their busy schedule of meetings at the fair the next day.

Apparently the user friendliness test was passed with flying colors! They found the right things in the right drawers, they liked the big window and the solutions we adopted. Nutella and Wasa in the pantry were a welcome comfort food after their long hours in the aircraft stuck on the tarmac waiting for takeoff…    I know the feeling!!!

a view from Qatar

An article from Qatar…“According to several studies, the German housing market still provides positive cash-flow development and increase in rents and prices. Despite the financial crisis, the residential real estate markets in the major cities of Germany are performing very well, and international investors are looking forward to increasing their investments in the market this year”.

High demand for properties in Germany
Web posted at: 7/6/2009 0:18:23
Source ::: The Peninsula

Doha: The first real estate investment meeting of Engel & Völkers held at the Sheraton Doha in Doha, last Monday. The conference focused on prime residential buildings in Germany and was set up to introduce local individuals and investment companies to the German housing market.