The investment
Total cost, rent scenarios and ten-year view
All figures are illustrative calculations for planning, before income tax. They are not a forecast.
Total cost of acquisition
Notary and registry costs are an estimate. No agent's fee is added beyond the buyer's commission shown. Confirm with your notary and tax adviser.
Three rent scenarios
Reference: Berlin asking rents in 2025 were €20.73/m² for freely financed new-build and €14.90/m² for existing stock. A 115 m² new-build from 2013 next to Park am Gleisdreieck is listed at €22.04/m² cold, and an automated valuation for this building shows about €23/m² (estimate, October 2026). Berlin rent-cap rules can limit the starting rent for buildings first let before October 2014; the scenarios assume market-level rents and need a legal check. Assumptions: 2% vacancy, €4,440 a year of non-recoverable owner costs, growth applies to rent and value, no financing, before income tax.
Base case over ten years
€723,470Total profit: 10 years of net rent plus value growth, +48% on the €1,506,195 invested.
3.6%Yearly return (IRR), unlevered, with sale at the end of year 10.
€39,072Net rent in year 1 after vacancy and owner costs, a 2.6% net yield on total cost.
Base case: rent €20/m², 2% vacancy, €4,440 non-recoverable costs a year, 2% yearly growth in rent and value. Before income tax and selling costs. Illustrative calculations, not a forecast.
With or without a loan
Interest-only loan, repaid at sale. Borrowing adds return only if value grows faster than the loan costs: with flat values the 60% loan loses money. Illustrative rate, not a loan offer.
Price per m², in context
This loft€7,297
Four nearby streets, lowest street average€4,269
Four nearby streets, highest street average€8,260
Berlin, all districts (median)€5,527
Berlin, city centre (average)€7,613
Berlin, new-build (average)€8,198
In the four nearby streets, average asking prices run from €4,269 to €8,260 per m²: the loft sits in the upper part of that range, 12% below its top. Against Tiergarten's good-location segment (€8,603) it is 15% lower. At €8,059 per m² (automated valuation for this building), 185 m² would be worth about €1.49M: 10% above the €1,350,000 list price. Other references give €1.42M to €1.53M. The value range is asking-price based, not a valuation. All comparisons are indicative.
Against other European markets
This loft, Berlin Tiergarten Süd€7,297
Amsterdam, city average€7,900
Munich, condominium average€8,860
Paris, city average€11,100
Central London€15,500
At €7,297 per m² the loft is 8% below the Amsterdam average, 18% below Munich, 34% below Paris and 53% below central London. City-wide averages include smaller and peripheral flats, so this shows direction, not like-for-like value. Public city-average asking prices 2026 and JLL H1 2026; indicative, not an appraisal.
How the case holds under pressure
If values fall
With values down 1% a year (−10% over ten years) and rent flat at €20/m², the return is still +0.8% a year, a profit of €261,636. It turns negative only beyond about −1.8% a year, a 17% fall.
Rent rules
The base case assumes €20/m², close to Berlin's new-build asking rent of €20.73. Berlin regulates rents on existing tenancies and re-lets: starting rents on re-letting follow the Berlin rent index plus 10%, and the exact reference for this apartment is confirmed against the index before a rent is agreed. Confirm the position with a Berlin lawyer.
Exit
Berlin saw 12,516 resale apartment transactions in 2025, up 10%. The three-bedroom layout widens the pool of buyers and tenants for a unit of this size.
