Prices at a similar level: house prices in rural areas are rising


Prices at a similar level
House prices in the country are rising

Those interested in buying have known for years that houses in popular city locations are expensive. But even far out in the country, the prices for your own four walls are converging, as the spring report of the real estate industry shows.

The corona pandemic has intensified the trend towards living in rural areas. In the years 2016 to 2020, the increase in purchase prices for one and two-family houses in large cities and in the surrounding area “adjusted upwards,” it says in the Spring report of the real estate industry. The attractiveness of remote areas has increased relative to the more central locations.

The reason is a changed migration behavior. Above all, from an age of around 30, people are increasingly drawn to rural areas again, even in regions further away from metropolises, according to the report of the Central Real Estate Committee (ZIA). The corona pandemic has reinforced this trend: Many advantages of living in the city have ceased to exist – at least temporarily – while the disadvantage of high housing costs remains. The authors of the report appeal to politicians to “support the trend benevolently”. For rural areas it offers an opportunity for economic, social, cultural and demographic stabilization.

Average price of 402,000 euros

According to the spring report, the average purchase price for single and two-family houses in 2020 was 402,000 euros. Between 2012 and 2016, purchase prices rose by an average of 15 percent. In the big cities, the price increase was above average at 37 percent, while the price increase in regions with a journey time of 60 to 70 minutes to the nearest center was only 9.5 percent. This pattern has changed in recent years: from 2016 to 2020, the rates of increase leveled out more independently of the distance to the centers.

It is noticeable that house prices rise practically regardless of the distance to the nearest metropolis. They also increased in counties with up to an hour and a half drive into the city. Examples are the districts of Uckermark, Dithmarschen, Vogelsbergkreis, Vulkaneifel, Schwäbisch Hall, Haßberge or Dillingen on the Danube. “It is surprising that not only surrounding areas benefit, but also really rural regions,” said ZIA President Andreas Mattner on Friday to “Spiegel”, which had previously reported on the study.

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