Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

City of water

Hamburg is set for a development boom, with land being reclaimed from the River Elbe to create a new city-within-a-city. Chris Alden tests the water

The riverside area of Hamburg, northern Germany, is hardly a glamorous place. In fact, if the genteel residential district around Lake Alster is the city’s first-class cabins, then the River Elbe is its engine room: a vast urban wetland of docks and canals where fishermen sell eels on a Sunday morning, and where, just a few blocks from the river, you can find the Reeperbahn, the most famous red-light district in the world.

Just upstream from this world of fishhooks and vice, plans are afoot to reclaim land from the river in the form of the 155-hectare HafenCity (harbour city) development, which will feature apartments, offices, cultural spaces and public parks.

A potent symbol of Hamburg’s regeneration, the HafenCity will turn the shabbily atmospheric Speicherstadt, or warehouse quarter, into a landlocked metropolitan district, increasing the size of Hamburg’s city centre by 40 per cent over the next 20 years.

With low property prices and a young population, Hamburg is a growing city, and an interesting opportunity for investors. Axel Kloth, a spokesman for IVD Nord, the trade association for estate agents in northern Germany, believes Hamburg has benefited from the expansion of the EU.

“Hamburg was a rather quiet city after the war,” he says. “We had quite a conservative government for 45 years and because of the Cold War all of its hinterland had gone – it was 40 miles and then nothing. Since the wall came down, things have changed and Hamburg has slowly developed. In 2000 we had a change in government, which brought fresh ideas. Then, when the EU opened to the east, the Baltic became an important trading path and Hamburg benefited from that.”

As in the rest of Germany, house prices in Hamburg are low. According to the European Housing Review 2006 published by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Germany was the only country in Europe where prices fell between 2004 and 2005. But Kloth says that in Hamburg prices have recently started to rise due to interest from Scandinavia, Britain and France.

“Hamburg is quite an interesting place to invest – a secure place,” says Kloth. “You don’t have the huge boom periods of Frankfurt and Munich, but there won’t be huge drops either.

According to HafenCity spokesperson Susanne Bühler, the reason there has been such an influx of young workers to Hamburg is because: “It’s an attractive city with nice architecture and it’s trendy: there’s a good music scene here, plus theatre and culture.”

“A third of the city is made up of greenery, a third is water, and a third is buildings,” says Dennis Romeiser, an estate agent at IBH Immobilien in Hamburg. “It’s beautiful. When people move away from other cities, Hamburg is one of the places they move to.”

The Elbe Philharmonic, a vast, new riverside concert hall designed by Herzog & de Meuron, will be a landmark cultural and architectural space in the HafenCity. The music hall is being built in the Dalmannkai, one of 12 designated ‘quarters’ of the city, each with its own character – some residential, some industrial and so on. The heart of the HafenCity will be the Überseequartier, which will feature shopping, restaurants, hotels and a complex housing a giant aquarium and science centre.

The HafenCity will offer different types of accommodation for different types of residents. At the top end there will be luxury properties such as the Yoo Hamburg development, with apartments designed by Philippe Starck (see Property Ladder); but there will also be housing aimed at families, such as the Bürgerstadt development, which has views of the harbour basin. “It’s very important to have a variety of people,” says Bühler. “We want a lively social mix.”

The project has been extremely well planned. HafenCity is just three minutes from the city centre on a new underground train line and to minimise the risk of potential flooding the streets are 7.5 m above sea level.

Businesses have already responded to this mood of optimism by moving into the areas north of the HafenCity. Software company SAP moved there in 2003, while logistics group Jungheinrich and China Shipping are also setting up major offices.

But there are still potential headaches for investors looking to move to Hamburg. The first problem is that, like Berlin, Hamburg has a very low rate of owner occupation: only 20 per cent of Hamburgers own their apartment or house. Rents are also controlled at a local government level, which may affect any decision to buy-to-let. This figure compares to a planned owner/tenant ratio of 50-50 in the HafenCity.

Investors should also be aware that the transaction costs of buying a property in Germany can top 10 per cent of the purchase price – including the notary (1.5 per cent), property tax (3.5 per cent), agents’ fees and registration. The German mortgage market has, however, gone through remarkable changes since 2000, with more internet lenders and greater transparency in the sector. Experts say this may soon have an effect on house prices.

For a city this size there are plenty of good locations for property. Even if the urban charms of the HafenCity don’t appeal, there are prime locations around Lake Alster and all along the canals in the city’s northern reaches.

Hamburg may be a city of water, but with low prices, attractive districts and an increasing population, its aspirations appear to have their roots in solid ground.

Property Ladder

€890,000 Thatched family house near Lake Alster
€787,050 Four-bedroom luxury apartment in the HafenCity’s Yoo Hamburg development designed by Philippe Starck
€509,000 New-build tower house in the suburban Reinbek district
€325,000 An art nouveau apartment with views over Hamburg
€220,000 101 sq m apartment in the south of the St Georg, near the HafenCity

Spain strikes back

These are exciting times in Europe’s up-and-coming property markets, but that doesn’t mean that established territories are just sitting back and waiting for their crowns to be stolen. Look again at some traditional property hot spots, and you’ll see the market fighting back with some luxurious properties and truly jaw-dropping designs.

Case in point, First Mallorca, the real estate agency well known for offering beautiful sea view and frontline properties on Mallorca, has two stunning homes for sale, each at a cool €5.5 million, that illustrate just how sophisticated the market in this part of the Mediterranean has become.

The spectacular Gull Wing design villa in Puerto Andratx, features sensational 180-degree sea views over its breathtaking infinity pool, while the double height interior and harmonious flow of open space contain four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Further along the coast is this state-ofthe-art tinted glass masterpiece, flooded with natural light. The minimalist open-plan design ensures the incredible views are enjoyed as though you are standing on the sea shore.

With three bedrooms and three bathrooms, the ultimate kitchen, Brazilian hardwood terraces, an infinity pool, jacuzzi, and fully integrated electronic, entertainment and security system, this is the supreme ‘wow factor’ property.

Ville d’eau

Hafencity est actuellement le projet phare de la ville de Hambourg, une ville dans la ville. Chris Alden nous emmène au fil de l’eau.

Le district portuaire d’Hambourg, dans le nord de l’Allemagne, est un vaste quartier tissé de quais et de canaux. Il abrite également le Reeperbahn, le quartier rouge le plus réputé du monde.

En amont du fleuve Elbe, le projet consiste à reconvertir d’anciens terrains sur une superficie totale de155 hectares (Hafencity, ville du port) pour développer un nouveau quartier, qui comportera des logements, bureaux, espaces verts, culturels… Cette transformation qui s’inscrit dans les nombreux projets urbains de rénovation du Land, agrandira le centre-ville de 40%.

Les prix relativement bas de l’immobilier et la présence d’une population jeune font d’Hambourg une ville en plein essor et une réelle opportunité d’investissement.

HafenCity mettra les docks en musique avec l’ensemble Philharmonique de l’Elbe, qui disposera d’une imposante salle de concert. Des aménagements de loisirs seront également prévus dans le Überseequartier, proposant de nombreuses options résidentielles, depuis des propriétés de luxe comme Yoo Hamburg, avec des appartements conçus par Philippe Starck, jusqu’à des habitations familiales.

Les entreprises ont déjà répondu à cette vague d’optimisme par des implantations dans le nord d’HafenCity. Des zones d’ombres subsistent cependant pour les investisseurs qui cherchent à s’installer dans la ville-port car seuls 20% de la population de Hambourg sont propriétaires et le gouvernement local exerce un contrôle sur le prix des loyers, ce qui pourrait avoir des répercussions négatives sur la location avec décision d’achat.

Tout le monde ne succombera peut-être pas aux charmes urbains d’HafenCity. Dans ce cas, d’autres aménagements de premier ordre sont proposés autour du Lac Alster et le long des canaux à l’extrême nord de la ville.

Hambourg est sans conteste une ville d’eau, mais avec ses quartiers qui créent un climat d’affaires propice à l’investissement et l’arrivée d’une nouvelle population, sa stratégie de développement est solidement ancrée sur la terre ferme.

Stad van water

Hamburg maakt zich op voor een nieuwe boom in haar ontwikkeling met HafenCity, een stad in de stad. Chris Alden test het water.

De riverside area in Hamburg, NoordDuitsland, is een uitgestrekt stedelijk gebied van dokken en kanalen. Hier bevindt zich ook de Reeperbahn, ‘s werelds beroemdste rosse buurt.

Voor de zone even stroomopwaarts bestaan vergevorderde plannen om land te winnen op de Elbe voor de bouw van een 155 hectare grote HafenCity met appartementen, kantoren, cultuurtempels en parken. Dit wordt een volledig door water omgeven stadsdistrict dat de oppervlakte van de Hamburgse binnenstad met 40 % zal uitbreiden.

Met lage huizenprijzen en een jonge bevolking is Hamburg een snel groeiende stad die interessante mogelijkheden voor beleggers biedt.

HafenCity wordt ook de thuisbasis van het Elbe Philharmonic, een spectaculaire concerthal aan het water, en het Überseequartier recreatiecomplex dat een spannend mengsel zal bieden, gaande van luxe-eigendommen zoals Yoo Hamburg, met door Philippe Starck ontworpen appartementen, tot gezinsvriendelijke woongelegenheden.

De zakenwereld reageerde reeds enthousiast op deze nieuwe vooruitzichten door naar de zones ten noorden van HafenCity te trekken. Maar een mogelijke kopzorg voor investeerders is dat slechts 20 % van de Hamburgers hun woonst bezit en dat de huurprijzen worden gecontroleerd op lokaal regeringsniveau, wat zijn invloed kan hebben op koop- of verhuurprojecten.

Wie niet gelooft in de stedelijke charmes van HafenCity kan nog prima locaties vinden nabij het Alstermeer en langs de kanalen in het noordelijk gedeelte van de stad.

Hamburg mag dan wel een stad van water zijn, met lage prijzen, aantrekkelijke wijken en een groeiende bevolking, haar ambities hebben in ieder geval stevige fundamenten.

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