Sell an apartment building in Berlin – discreetly, without a listing

Who buys an apartment building in Berlin today?

The figure above is not an estimate: it counts the purchase requests recorded with us that include Berlin and whose price range reaches €500,000 or is open-ended. How many of them are looking for an apartment building is shown in the box. Almost all requests come from the client base of IMMOBRA GmbH, plus buyers registered on diskret.immo. A request is counted if there has been contact within the last 24 months – whether the buyer is still looking today is something we clarify when matching your building.

Who buys in Berlin has shifted since 2025. The number of rental flats converted into condominiums fell by 37% to 966 in 2025 (Gutachterausschuss Berlin, 31 July 2026). For buildings with more than five flats, splitting into condominiums has required a permit in Berlin since August 2021 (section 250 BauGB); the current conversion ordinance has applied since 1 January 2026 and runs until the end of 2030. In the 82 social preservation areas (soziale Erhaltungsgebiete), conversion requires a permit for every building, including smaller ones. In our observation, buyers whose numbers only work with a later conversion have therefore become rarer. In our experience, three groups are currently asking most:

• Long-term holders and family offices who keep a building for years and buy on rent development, condition and manageability.
• Private investors looking for buildings up to around 15 units, often bank-financed.
• Buyers with a refurbishment plan who price in vacancy, attic space or maintenance backlog – in preservation areas with the permit requirement in mind.

Whether there are matching requests for your building is shown by the silent test: you describe the building in one sentence – district, units, floor area, asking price – and it is matched against the search profiles straight away. We do not need your address for this.

What does an apartment building in Berlin fetch?

Berlin rental buildings are paid for by their income. For 2023 to 2025, the Gutachterausschuss analysed 635 sales of apartment buildings and mixed-use buildings to see what multiple of the annual net cold rent was paid: 23.5 on average, 22.8 at the median.

What the figures mean for your price:

• Low existing rents raise the multiple. The Gutachterausschuss sets the capitalisation rate higher the higher the rent. Conversely, buyers pay a higher multiple for buildings with low rents – they are paying for future rent development. Comparing multiples with the building next door says little if the rents differ.
• In 2025 more buildings were sold, but for less money. Sales of rental buildings rose by 10%, turnover fell by 14% (excluding portfolio sales). It is plausible that smaller buildings changed hands on average. For large buildings, a targeted approach to long-term holders and family offices therefore pays off.
• Pre-war stock dominates. Of the 635 sales analysed, 433 were buildings constructed before 1919 – around 68%.

Worked example, not a valuation: a building with €150,000 annual net cold rent would come to around €3.4m at the Berlin median of 22.8 (excluding purchase costs). Whether your building is above or below depends on rent level, tenant structure, condition, commercial share and location. We only give our own range after reviewing the rent roll and documents. How the multiple is calculated is explained in the guide Calculate the purchase price multiple, and the market from a buyer’s perspective on Buy an apartment building in Berlin.

How long does a sale in Berlin take – and what does the district do?

For the timetable, two things matter more in Berlin than the search for a buyer: the pre-emption right and the documents.

The pre-emption right extends the time until payment

After the notary appointment, the purchase contract is notified to the district (section 28 (1) BauGB). The district can only exercise a pre-emption right within three months of this notification (section 28 (2) BauGB). The buyer is only entered in the land register once it is established that no pre-emption right is exercised; the due date of the purchase price in the contract is therefore usually tied to this declaration by the district – alongside the priority notice of conveyance, the release documents for registered land charges and any permits.

A discreet sale does not change this – what counts is the purchase contract, not the listing. How often the districts actually step in is shown by the Senate’s report for 2025: in the 82 social preservation areas there were seven review cases in 2025; the pre-emption right was exercised once (Neukölln), and twice buyers committed to a waiver agreement (Abwendungsvereinbarung) instead (Senate Chancellery, press release of 31 March 2026). Since the ruling of the Federal Administrative Court of 9 November 2021 (4 C 1.20), the districts‘ options there are narrowly limited. This may change: an amendment to the Federal Building Code intended to strengthen the pre-emption right in preservation areas again is in the legislative process (as of 29 October 2026). Whether it already applies to your purchase contract should be checked by the notary before notarisation.

What follows for you: if your building is in a social preservation area, plan for the three months and clarify early with the buyer whether they would sign a waiver agreement under section 27 BauGB. Such agreements rule out, for example, conversion into condominiums or certain refurbishments and bind the buyer for years. Some buyers factor this in, others do not – better to know before the notary appointment.

Rent cap and rent index: what buyers check

The rent cap (Mietpreisbremse) applies throughout Berlin until 31 December 2029. When a flat is re-let, the rent may generally be at most 10% above the local comparative rent. Buyers therefore check not only the level of the rents but also whether they hold up legally. Have ready for every flat:

• the tenancy agreement with all addenda and the last rent increase with its justification (rent index, refurbishment)
• for new lettings since the rent cap applied (in Berlin since 1 June 2015): the previous rent or the reason for an exemption
• service-charge statements for the last three years, vacancies and any ongoing disputes

Clean documents are money in Berlin: a buyer prices unclear rents with a discount. The full list is on the page Sell an apartment building discreetly.

Real estate transfer tax: 6%, usually paid by the buyer

In Berlin, real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) is 6.0% of the consideration, usually the purchase price (since 1 January 2014). By law, buyer and seller owe it as joint and several debtors (section 13 no. 1 GrEStG); in the purchase contract the buyer usually takes it on. For your price this means: a buyer working with a certain multiple deducts tax, notary, land register and, where applicable, commission from their total budget.

When do the tenants learn about the sale?

As late as possible and as early as necessary – you decide the timing. Profile and exposé give no address and show no façade. Tenants are only informed when a buyer with confirmed financing wants to view flats. The tenancy agreements remain in place: on entry in the land register, the buyer takes over all tenancy agreements as landlord (section 566 BGB), and rent deposits pass to the buyer too (section 566a BGB). Tenants do not usually acquire a right of pre-emption when the whole building is sold, as long as no condominiums have been created and the contract does not provide for a split (section 577 BGB). More on this, including the order of releases, on the page Sell an apartment building discreetly.

In Berlin this is no detail: a rental building that sits on portals for months is soon known to the whole neighbourhood – including tenant initiatives and competitors comparing the price.

How does a discreet sale via diskret.immo work?

1. Silent test: describe the building in one sentence – district, units, floor area, asking price. You see how many search profiles match. No address, no account.
2. First conversation and valuation: free and non-binding, based on the rent roll and documents.
3. Anonymous profile: district, property type, units, price and floor-area range. You approve the text.
4. Exposé for a few: only to buyers whose identity and contact details our team has confirmed and whose search profile is on file, with a confidentiality commitment and only with your consent.
5. Address and viewing: after the conversation about financing; only now do the tenants learn about it.
6. Notary and district: purchase contract, notification to the district, up to three months‘ review of the pre-emption right; once all conditions for payment are met, payment of the purchase price and handover follow.

Commission is only payable on a successful sale and is agreed in advance in the brokerage agreement. Whether you can sell the building tax-free usually depends on the ten-year period – see When can you sell an apartment building tax-free?

More pages for owners: Sell an apartment building discreetly · Sell commercial property · Sell land · Sell inherited property · Share deal or asset deal

No legal or tax advice. This page provides general information on the legal position in Berlin as of 29 October 2026 and does not replace a review of your case. Have the pre-emption right, tenancies and tax consequences reviewed by a lawyer, notary or tax adviser before the sale.