Portfolio case study: unlocking the best performing single-family rental housing in Germany for a $1tn asset manager.

How we delivered an above-market yielding portfolio for a multi-national asset manager of >$1tn – from market intelligence to portfolio stabilisation in 12 months in 2021-2022.

Opportunity

Germany has strong demand for housing in the “Top 7” cities

Within Europe, Germany has some of the highest demand for rental housing in its “Top 7” cities which include Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin and Munich, as well as their surrounding commuter areas, which often present a greater volume of mis-priced assets offering more attractive yields. Driving this demand is strong population growth, high volumes of renters and a preference for smaller household sizes:


Strong population growth

Population growth in Top 7 cities vs. rest of Germany


High % of rents

Distribution between owners and renters


Reduction in household sizes

Percent of households comprising 1 or 2 people

GDP and employment growth indicate significant opportunity

As an example, we’ve identified that Cologne’s GDP and employment growth has steadily outperformed the German average. Between 2005 and 2020, Cologne’s GDP grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.52% compared to the German average, which stood at 1.04%.

During the same period, Cologne’s employment grew at a rate of 1.47%, versus the German average of 0.88%. These are indicators that support a capital and rent growth opportunity, not only in the Cologne market, but also in its surrounding areas. In many areas of Germany, high rental price growth continues to outstrip supply and this growth isn’t limited to its cities.

Cologne and Rhein-Erft-Kreis
are prime rental districts

Taking Cologne again – where rentals make up 71.9% of housing – and one of its neighbouring commuter districts, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, as an example: the growing demand for rental properties within these two districts has resulted in rental price growth of 12% over the past five years and a significant drop in the average time it takes for an apartment to rent, falling from around 10 weeks to around five weeks in Rhein-Erft-Kreis, and from around six weeks to around three weeks in Cologne. With population and disposable incomes forecast to grow annually by 1.2% and 1.0% respectively over the next 10 years, demand and rental prices will continue to drive upwards in both regions.

Outcome: West Germany and Hamburg SFR portfolio

Our automated lead generation and filtering reduces the ‘time to inspect’ from 7 days to 1 day

A – Analysis at scale: >70,000 leads generated through D2C, broker partnerships and scraping listing websites.

B – Accurate de-duplication: Consolidation and analysis of 15+ data sources to gain complete market coverage.

C – Data enrichment: Location and macro data overlay is used to advance asset analysis.

D – Yield estimates: Yields estimated pre-inspection to identify high value investments.


Key Metrics

Analysed

27,000+ | €20bn

Properties using IMMO’s proprietary technology

Inspected

1,800+ | > €570m

Conducted in-person by our local team of experts

Annual acquisition run rate

€210mn

For residential assets across Germany

Assets

>200

Assets under management

Portfolio occupancy rate

99%

Across acquired assets in Germany

Yield

3.7%

Average gross entry yield across acquired properties

Get in touch with us to discuss our track record in detail, and see what we can do for your investment strategy.

Asset case studies

Selected assets from our portfolios.

Hellbrookstieg
(Barmbek-Nord, Germany)

50 sqm

1 Bedroom

1953

€240,000

Before renovation

After renovation

Achieved metrics

UW Rent

€1,100

Achieved rent

€1,280

vs. UW +16.3%

Achieved gross yield

6%

Refurb costs

€16,353

Almendrales
(Madrid, Spain)

63 sqm

3 Bedroom

1952

€105,000

Before renovation

After renovation

Achieved metrics

UW Rent

€850

Renovation Uplift

22%

Achieved gross yield

7.6%

Refurb costs

€29,013


Reventlowstrasse (Othmarschen, Germany)

93 sqm

2 Bedroom

1932

€405,000

Before renovation

After renovation

Achieved metrics

UW Rent

€2,300

Achieved rent

€2,400

vs. UW +4.3%

Achieved gross yield

7%

Refurb costs

€8,013