Buy an apartment building in Berlin – off-market

What is the Berlin property market like?

In 2025 the Berlin market for rental apartment buildings became more active but more fragmented: the number of sales rose by 10%, while the transaction volume fell by 14%. In other words, more buildings changed hands, but on average they were smaller or cheaper. At the same time the average price per square metre rose by 6%.

We explain the multiple in the guide Purchase price multiple for apartment buildings and briefly in the glossary.

What the figures reveal about Berlin: The higher the rent of a property, the higher the capitalisation rate the valuation committee applies. Buildings with low existing rents therefore trade at a higher multiple of the rent – buyers are also paying for the prospect of future rental growth. Anyone comparing two Berlin buildings should therefore never just compare the multiples side by side.

One gap in the statistics affects discreet sales in particular: share deals, i.e. the sale of company shares instead of the property itself, do not have to be sent by the notary (Notar) to the valuation committee. They are missing from the purchase price collection (Kaufpreissammlung).

Which properties are traded off-market in Berlin?

Off-market means: the property is not listed on portals but offered to selected buyers in a targeted way. In Berlin this mainly concerns properties where owners do not want to alarm tenants, neighbours or competitors:

• Rental apartment buildings from the Gründerzeit period. Of the 635 transactions from which the valuation committee derived the 2026 capitalisation rates, 433 were buildings constructed before 1919 – around 68%.
• Mixed-use buildings with shops or practices on the ground floor.
• Post-war and 1970s stock in need of modernisation.
• Plots and vacant infill sites whose sale should only become known after a preliminary building enquiry (Bauvoranfrage).
• Villas and single-family houses in the villa districts of the south-west.

Describe what you are looking for in your own words in the search. More on the property types: Off-market apartment buildings and Off-market investment buildings.

Where in Berlin are rental buildings sold?

The market is spread across the entire inner city and the dense areas around the Ring. In the valuation committee’s sample, most of the buildings sold were in the former districts of Neukölln (75), Kreuzberg (54), Steglitz (48), Reinickendorf (43), Spandau (42) and Charlottenburg (41). Not a single usable case came from Marzahn or Hohenschönhausen.

The anonymous profiles on diskret.immo therefore only name the district or an approximate location, never the street. You receive the address only after the owner has released it.

Do you own an apartment building in Berlin and want to know which buyers are looking for one – without a public listing and without a notice in the stairwell? Who buys in Berlin today and what buildings fetch according to official data is shown on Sell an apartment building in Berlin. Send us the key details – we prepare an anonymous profile with you and release it only with your consent. Details are only visible to verified buyers you approve.

What do owners in Berlin need to consider when selling?

In Berlin several rules interlock. You should know three points before preparing a sale.

Conversion into owner-occupied apartments requires approval

Since 1 January 2026 the Berlin Conversion Ordinance (Umwandlungsverordnung) under § 250 Federal Building Code (BauGB) has applied. It makes the division of existing residential buildings with more than five apartments into separate ownership subject to approval and runs until 31 December 2030. Exceptions are set out in § 250(3) BauGB, for example the division of an estate or a sale to at least two thirds of the tenants.

In the social preservation areas (soziale Erhaltungsgebiete) – currently 82 according to the Senate Department – division requires approval regardless of the number of apartments. The legal basis is the Conversion Ordinance 2025 under § 172(1) sentence 4 BauGB (GVBl. Berlin 2025 p. 129); it has applied since 13 March 2025 and expires at the end of 12 March 2030. There the districts can also refuse modernisations beyond the usual standard, mergers of apartments and demolition.

For buyers this means: a multiple that only works with a later division into apartments is not a reliable multiple in Berlin.

The right of pre-emption also applies to a discreet sale

In social preservation areas the districts have a right of pre-emption (Vorkaufsrecht). Since the 2021 ruling of the Federal Administrative Court it can only be exercised in a few cases. Important: whether a building was listed or not makes no difference. What matters is the notarised purchase contract, which the municipality receives for review. Buyers can avert the exercise of the right through an aversion agreement (Abwendungsvereinbarung) with the district (§ 27 BauGB).

Discretion mainly protects the tenants

A public listing with a photo of the façade also reaches the residents. An anonymous profile only states the district, property type and price and floor-area range. This allows you to test the market without causing unrest in the building. How to sell an apartment building in Berlin discreetly, what the district examines after the notary appointment and when the tenants find out is explained on the owners‘ page for Berlin.

Not legal or tax advice. The information on conversion and pre-emption rights reflects the position as of 26.10.2026. Have your case reviewed by a lawyer or notary before a sale.

How do you buy in Berlin via diskret.immo?

1. Create an account and save a search profile: register free of charge. Our team then activates your account as „verified“.
2. View anonymous profiles: district, property type, price and floor-area range, no address.
3. Request the exposé: as a verified buyer after a confidentiality undertaking, released with the owner’s consent.
4. Address: after a conversation about your financing and a further release. Our team hands over documents in person.

As of 31 October 2026: fewer than three released anonymous profiles in Berlin and 18 active purchase requests that include Berlin.

Other regions: Hamburg · Munich · Frankfurt · Leipzig · Potsdam and surrounding area · all off-market property