Anyone looking for an investment property in Berlin will automatically come across the district of Moabit during their research. From 1920 to 2001, Moabit was part of the Tiergarten district. Since the redistricting in 2001, both Tiergarten and Moabit have been part of the Mitte district. In the post-war period, Moabit was in the British sector of West Berlin.
Moabit was first settled by the Huguenots, who moved here from France in the 17th century. With industrialization, Berlin expanded at breakneck speed, as the areas of Moabit had previously been inhabited and farmed by cattle breeders. Today, Moabit is located in the middle of Berlin and even if only a few corners of the rural ambience are still recognizable, this district has a lot to offer.
In this article, we would like to explain what makes Moabit special, how expensive apartments are in this Berlin district and how the real estate situation has developed in recent years. In our article “Buying a condominium in Berlin Moabit: Infrastructure, demographics, info & more“, you can read about what it’s like to live in Moabit, which political leanings are popular with residents, how many schools there are and how good the medical care is. We also provide you with information about the most important hotspots, the nicest restaurants and the cutest cafés.
The purchase price trend for apartments & houses in Moabit
Theaverage purchase price for a condominium in January 2023 was €5,103/m². In 2017, the average purchase price was still €3,223/m². This represents an enormous price increase in recent years. Compared to the previous year alone, the increase is 10 percent. Houses in Moabit will sell for an average of €8,092/m² in January 2023.
The changes in prices for apartments and houses show how popular the Moabit district is with investors and residents. Purchase prices are particularly high in the south and east of Moabit. Here, Moabit borders on the districts of Berlin-Mitte and Tiergarten.
Buying a condominium in Moabit
Moabit is part of the center of Berlin, which is particularly evident when you want to move to the sights of the German capital. Another striking feature is the beautiful waterfront location. Moabit is surrounded by the Spree, the Westhafen canal, the Charlottenburg connecting canal and the Berlin-Spandau shipping canal.
However, the housing market in Moabit is not particularly large. There are just under 45,000 apartments in the district. What is also striking is the relatively low ownership rate, which is just 2.5 percent. This means that tenants live in 97.5 percent of the apartments. In the following, we want to get to the bottom of the question of how much existing apartments and new-build apartments cost in Moabit.
How much does a new-build apartment in Moabit cost?
Most of the new apartments built in recent years are luxury projects in very attractive locations.
The average list price for new-build apartments in Berlin Moabit in 2022 was around €10,600/m². This is almost 14 percent more than in the previous year. Despite continuously rising prices, an investment appears to be worthwhile, as a further upward trend is expected in the coming years.
What does an existing apartment in Moabit cost?
Existing apartments in Moabit are advertised on the real estate market at a lower price than new-build properties. The average value for 2022 is around € 5,300/m ². In most cases, these are renovated apartments from the Wilhelminian era. Moabit was a heavily populated working-class district before the Second World War. The buildings stood close together, but were damaged in the air raids and were not rebuilt after the war in order to make the areas more open.
Nevertheless, there are definitely apartments in renovated old buildings. The prices per square meter are from 7,422 €/m², resulting in purchase prices of between €490,000 and €1.3 million.
How high are rents in Berlin Moabit?
While new-build apartments will cost an average of €19.48/m² in November 2022, rental apartments from the stock in Moabit for an average of € 12.43/m² offered. There are still numerous apartments in Moabit that have been rented to the same tenants for decades. If such a tenancy ends, the apartments in the most cases first have to be completely renovated before they can be offered for rent again. This means that Moabit is becoming a very attractive district. Until a few years ago, it was mainly workers who lived here, but now more and more young families and well-heeled couples are moving to the district. The increasing popularity of Moabit is naturally also reflected in rental prices. Even though rental costs fell last year, they had risen sharply in previous years. For example, the average net cold rent for existing apartments in 2016 was still €9.10/m ².
Rents for new-build apartments are also rising steadily. In January 2023, the average net cold rent here was around €17.00/m². A year earlier, it was still €15.40/m². This corresponds to an increase of 10.7 percent over the 12-month period. The fact that more and more apartments are being refurbished is also reflected in the rents. Apartments offered at a price per square meter of between €5.00 and €8.00/m² are rarely found today. Meanwhile, the number of apartments priced at over €15.00/m² per square meter is increasing noticeably.
If you would like to view the real estate offers you will currently find a particularly large number of apartments with a net cold rent of between €500 and €800/m². In terms of price per square meter, apartments between 60 and 80 m ² and apartments with less than 40 m² most expensive. However, these are also the most frequently offered. There are relatively few rental apartments with 3 or more rooms on the Moabit real estate market.
Special locations and neighborhoods in Moabit
In this section, we will take a closer look at Moabit and break it down into its individual neighborhoods. Which locations are particularly popular with local residents, where can you enjoy a delicious meal and which parks can you visit at the weekend?
The Huttenkiez
The Huttenkiez is strongly characterized by the industrial areas. Siemens, AEG and other companies had their headquarters here. The old industrial buildings, between which the residential buildings are located, are still a reminder of this bygone era. In recent years, new commercial architecture has also emerged. It is pleasing to see that more and more students and other young people are now living in the Huttenkiez. This brings life to this district of Moabit. To the west of the Huttenkiez is the Charlottenburg connecting canal with its New Bank. To the south, the Huttenkiez is bordered by the Spree. If you are looking for a hidden, green place to relax in the middle of Berlin’s city center, this is the place for you. You can relax on wooden loungers or take advantage of one of the sports facilities right by the water. The Huttenkiez is not particularly well known to tourists, but is all the more popular with the residents of the district. The Stadtschloss is a center where neighbors meet to drink coffee together or take part in a handicraft course. The pottery course, for example, is very popular. But if you want to join a choir, this is also the place to be.
The Beusselkiez
Beusselstraße, which gives this neighborhood its name, is located in the west of Moabit. The neighborhood is bordered on the north side by the railroad tracks, on the west side by the Charlottenburg connecting canal and on the south side by the Spree. This results in an outline of the neighborhood that resembles an island. This can also be applied to the residential quarters. These are arranged in islands and densely built-up. Most of the buildings date back to the Wilhelminian era. The apartments have been refurbished or renovated in recent years, which has raised the standard of living considerably. Around 7,000 people live in the Beusselkiez, of which r and 41 percent have a migration background have. There are hardly any green spaces, yet this part of Moabit is popular with residents. It is a good place to live, because even though you are still in the center of Berlin, it is a quiet residential area. Several citizens’ initiatives have set themselves the goal of making life in the neighborhood even more pleasant. For this reason, community centers are being set up and events are held at regular intervals where residents can get to know each other better.
The Emdener Straße
In 2013, Emdener Straße was voted the most beautiful street in Germany. A surprise when you consider what this street looked like just a few decades ago. It was best known as Moabit’s drug triangle, but a lot has changed in recent years. The area around Emdener Straße is particularly deserving of the title of Germany’s most beautiful street because the neighborhood shows a huge amount of solidarity. The people here stick together and work together to move their neighborhood forward. Around 30 different nationalities live in Emdener Straße and the surrounding area. No wonder you can sample a wide variety of specialties here and buy fresh fruit and vegetables from Turkish traders. There is also a small football pitch – a Berlin neighborhood that couldn’t be more typical.
The Westphalian Quarter
The Westfälisches Viertel (Westphalian Quarter) entices residents and tourists alike with a wealth of charm, delicious food and cultural offerings. Located south of the Alt-Moabit street, this neighborhood is not even on most tourists’ radar when they visit Berlin. Hardly any other neighborhood in Berlin manages to warm the hearts of visitors like the Westfälisches Viertel. The day starts early with freshly baked bread, which you can buy at Domberger-Brotwerk, for example. The atmosphere is warm and the bread couldn’t be crispier. If you want to take a look around an authentic African artist’s studio, you will find Bé Dogon Art in Elberfelder Straße. Afterwards, you can take a walk along the Bundesratufer. It is particularly beautiful here in early summer and fall, when wafts of mist rise from the surface of the water and the sun’s rays bathe the area in golden light. The book canteen invites you to enjoy a hot drink and browse through the bookshelves. You can enjoy a delicious meal in the small bistro and then retreat to a quiet corner to delve into an interesting book. But that’s not all, once a month a tango evening is held in the book canteen. If you want to have a delicious dinner, the best thing to do is to pick up some fresh pasta from the Pasta-Manufaktur. These are made daily and are absolutely delicious.
The Stephankiez
Around 90 percent of the building fabric from the Wilhelminian era has been preserved in this district. Beautiful old buildings are lined up close together. Some façades are almost completely overgrown with ivy, others are adorned with stately balconies. Most of the apartments have been renovated or at least refurbished in recent years.
To the north, the Stephankiez is bordered by Ellen-Epstein-Straße. To the south are Birkenstraße and Perleberger Straße, and to the west the busy Putlitzstraße. The Stephankiez is a residential area with schools, kindergartens and other facilities that extends around Stephanplatz. There are hardly any green spaces here, which is not unusual in Moabit.
The Heidestrasse
Heidestraße is one of Moabit’s main streets. It leads via Nordhafen directly to Europacity and Berlin Central Station. The Heidestrasse quarter is currently being built here. A new residential quarter that will be built on an area of around 85,000 square meters. is being built. In the future, working, living and working will be combined here. Even though the district is being built using the latest technology, small cafés and bistros are to be created here where residents can meet up. The living atmosphere will be trendy and futuristic. At the same time, residents should feel comfortable, be able to stroll through the green spaces and find a quiet spot.
The Jagowstrasse
Anyone strolling through Moabit cannot avoid the quiet residential area around Jagowstraße. Here you will mainly find apartment buildings with single-storey apartments. In the north of the district, you are just a few steps away from Ottopark, which has beautiful paths and a large playground. To the south, the Jagowkiez is surrounded by a bend in the Spree. Here you will find Eyke-von-Repkow-Platz with its sports center. The Wullenwebersteg bridge takes you on foot across the Spree to the neighboring district of Tiergarten. During your walk across the river, you can marvel at the old buildings and new construction projects that are located directly on the water and exude a romantic atmosphere.
Thomasiusstrasse
The Thomasiuskiez is a small neighborhood consisting of just 4 parallel streets. The area was declared a protected neighborhood in 2018 because the aim is to preserve the social structure that has grown here. But Thomasiusstrasse also has a sad past. You will come across over 100 stumbling blocks on a walk here. These bear witness to the fact that more than 100 Jewish people lived here who were deported and murdered during the Second World War. A terrible past that you come across in many different places in Berlin.
The Thomasiuskiez is a quiet residential area where residents feel very much at home. Here, time seems to have stood still in places and it is hard to believe that you are only a few minutes away from Berlin’s most important sights.
The Heinrich Zille Estate
The housing estate was built in the 1970s and offers space for around 2,400 residents in 890 apartments. The banks of the Spree are very close by, as is Fritz-Schloss-Park. It is a wonderful place to go for a walk. The transport connections are ideal, as the main train station is only a few minutes away. This is not only the starting point for long-distance journeys, but is also on the routes several bus and suburban train lines as well as a subway line.
Conclusion
Moabit is very centrally located and is part of the Berlin-Mitte district. In this article, we looked at the current situation on the real estate market and took a closer look at Moabit’s individual districts and neighborhoods. In the second part of our report ” Buying a condominium in Berlin Moabit: Infrastructure, demographics, info & more” you can read about the district’s infrastructure, how good the medical care is, how many educational institutions there are and which parties are voted for by residents.
