Analysis: From war bunker to penthouse to market flop: how Germany's property boom ended

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It has been a tumultuous year for one prominent German property developer: his efforts to sell his penthouse atop a Nazi-era air raid shelter have stalled, and just weeks ago his firm filed for insolvency.

"We're heading for the wall at breakneck speed. The first developers have fallen and more will follow," said Tillmann Peeters, an insolvency lawyer with FalkenSteg.

The health of Germany's property sector - Europe's biggest property investment market outside of Britain - is critical, making up roughly a fifth of output and providing one in 10 jobs. New building during the first half of the yearIn 2010, in the early days of a years-long boom, Hoeglmaier bought a dilapidated aboveground bunker in a posh Munich neighbourhood from the government to convert it into luxury apartments.

The penthouse made the cover of Germany's Architectural Digest, and the couple hosted "bunker acoustic sessions", with video clips posted to Loya's Facebook page. Euroboden issued a profit warning in October. Late last year, Hoeglmaier put his penthouse on the market, and Euroboden closed its Frankfurt office.

Throughout, Euroboden has blamed the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation and interest rates - the same toxic mix that has inflicted pain on the entire industry.

 

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