Commission-free real estate directly from the owner in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Life on the Lippe, Ems, Rhine and Ruhr: Variety of prices, locations and regions

Germany's most populous and densely populated state, with 17.6 million inhabitants, is known elsewhere and internationally primarily for its numerous major cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen and Aachen, as well as for the Ruhr region in general, which was formerly known as the "coal pot". Nevertheless, the region in the far west of the Federal Republic also has, in addition to its megacities, a surprisingly large number of diverse rural areas. In particular, the northern Münsterland, the eastern Weserbergland, the Rhenish Slate Mountains in the south, the Eifel on the left bank of the Rhine, and the Bergisch and Sauerland regions east of the Rhine are not only very popular vacation and local recreation areas, but also extremely popular German residential areas due to their charming and unspoiled nature, just like the Rothaar Mountains in the Siegen-Wittgenstein and Hochsauerlandkreis districts. In line with this diversity of different landscapes, the prices and markets for real estate in North Rhine-Westphalia are also very heterogeneous. In prime locations in the state capital Düsseldorf, one can easily pay around 4,500 euros/m², and in neighboring Cologne around 4,300 euros/m² for a condominium in the upper price segment; in both cities, prices for condominiums rose by double-digit percentages (10 to 15%) between 2011 and 2012 alone.

More expensive in the south, north and east, falling prices in the dense center

Other large cities, such as Essen , on the other hand, show a much more moderate price trend, with prices per square meter here hovering around 2,800 euros for condominiums in very good locations, while the average is only around 1,170 euros/m², and in Dortmund around 1,160 euros/m². However, most of the former mining towns in the Ruhr region offer even much better opportunities; here, prices have fallen by double-digit percentages in many places in recent years due to population decline and economic structural change. Accordingly, real estate in North Rhine-Westphalia can be purchased in cities such as Hagen, Herne, Solingen, Mönchengladbach, Bochum, Bottrop, Krefeld, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen, sometimes at exorbitantly low prices. In eastern Westphalia, however, real estate prices for residential property have risen slightly in recent years, particularly in cities such as Bielefeld, Gütersloh, Bad Oeynhausen and Paderborn, as well as Löhne, Lemgo and Höxter; a regional exception is Bad Salzuflen, where house prices have fallen by an average of 5%. Quite favorable offers can also still be found in the smaller communities of the districts of Herford, Höxter, Lippe and Minden-Lübbecke.In thewell-known university city of Münster, however, prices for new buildings and existing properties have been rising continuously by 11 to 13 percent for years.

NRW leads the way in regional price differences for old and new buildings

According to current figures, there are no other German states with such large regional differences in real estate prices as North Rhine-Westphalia. As mentioned above, the most expensive areas are Düsseldorf, Cologne and the rest of the Rhineland, but prices have also been rising steadily for some time in the Münsterland region, which is generally praised for its high quality of life, and in the cities of eastern Westphalia. There are also very large differences in the acquisition costs for old or new buildings. While the prices for a new home have risen by an average of one third over the last ten years to a current average of 278,000 euros in the first half of 2013, the price for used houses has fallen by 5 percent in this period to a current average of 172,000 euros. However, the stock of older buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia must once again be clearly differentiated in terms of year of construction, fixtures and fittings and condition. In particular, the properties listed above, some of which are very affordable, in many cities in the Ruhr region generally only have a fairly simple building fabric that often requires extensive renovation. Characteristic and specific for the real estate market in North Rhine-Westphalia are therefore primarily the large regional and even local differences, so that the prices per square meter can occasionally differ by up to more than 1,000 euros from district to district and neighborhood to neighborhood, depending on the exact residential environment. However, in view of the economic transformation in NRW, which only started a few years ago, most observers generally expect property prices to rise in most regions of the state in the medium and long term.

Short facts on buying real estate in North Rhine-Westphalia:

- North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's most multifaceted real estate market
- Vibrant cities and green hinterland characterize the state
- Düsseldorf and Cologne record the highest increases in value
- In many cities of the "Ruhrpotts" there are very affordable, but simple properties
- East Westphalia is increasingly developing into a higher-priced market
- The price differences for old and new buildings are also particularly pronounced in NRW
- In NRW, the local location determines the price more than anywhere else
- Structural change in NRW will cause property prices to rise further