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Areas Overview

Marzahn-Hellensdorf.

The borough was formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf. It's located in the east of Berlin. The original district of Marzahn was founded in 1979 and Hellersdorf was founded in 1986, both are very new by Berlin standards. Following reunification some newer developments originally outside the old city boundaries were incorporated within the post re-unification city boundaries. The new housing estates in Hönow and Ahrensfelde-Süd were incorporated into the borough. The current boundaries are based on a surveying and mapping programme carried out by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg.

The borough is characterised by the large number (approximately 100,000) of prefabricated concrete buildings, known as "Plattenbauten" (buildings constructed with pre-cast concrete slabs) dating from its pre-partition socialist past.

The "Plattenbauten" buildings are home to approximately 50% of the residents of the borough.

The Borough districts include Marzahn (pop 104,000) which is in the north of the borough and developed from a village area.

The mass housing "Plattenbauten" developments of socialist times increased the population in the district dramatically when completed in the 1980's. Developments in the district since re-unification include both retail and recreational. Since 2000 residential development occred in the Landsberger Gate area between Landsberger Allee and Eisenacher Str. The stock of Plattenbauten" blocks were also dramatically reduced.

Biesdorf (pop 24,000) originally a village was first developed in the 1900's. The area was the base for the development of the first electric trams and a noted historic building in the district is the Schloss Biersdorf. A "Schlosspark" there was turned into a recreation facility in the 1990's. Further resdidential area's were developed in recent years along with a commercial park and the large BMW facility. Kaulsdorf (pop 19,000) an area with lots of development potential, Mahlsdorf (pop 27,000) is on the extreme east of the city and has a very low population density. Finally Hellersdorf (pop 76,000) which is also on the extreme eastern edge of the city was heavily built up in the mid-1980s "Plattenbauten Era".

What's happening in Marzahn-Hellensdorf?

A number of changes have taken place in the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf over the last twenty five years, pre-dating re-unification. Marzahn first followed by Hellersdorf saw an influx of predominantly young families to newly constructed residential areas. This was counteracted by a decline in the population of the older large housing projects. The newly constructed properties were based on smaller settlements and totalled nearly 20,000 new homes and villas. These developments were designed under a socialist regime and were based on standards of accommodation that allocated less space per head.

The typical development from this period allowed for small studios of 30m2 rising to 4 bed flats of up to 100m2 for large families.

With increased expectations since re-unification some of these developments may start to loose their appeal as demand for this type of space reduces.

A current offer on www.immobilienscout24.de for a 95m2 flat in the sub-district Hellersdorf at 40,000 euro (400 euro/m2 is no longer normally possible in Berlin) for a development of this period indicates the difficulties in the area.

Efforts have been made since re-unification to upgrade the prefabricated housing stock. With by far the lowest rents in Berlin the borough is beached on the periphery with the largest decline in rents and little sign that rents will soon rise. A detailed discussion on the range of properties in Berlin and issues relating to renovation and re-development is available in the Property Types section.

Future Trends

(Anecdotal based rather than data based).The bottoming out of rents is about the best that can be expected for the borough in the near future. This will probably leave the borough further adrift from the average rates for the rest of Berlin. Without any strong driver for improvement, apart from general overflow from the more expensive neighboring boroughs, the borough looks like the least interesting for all but the most speculative investors.

However if this relative deterioration persists for another couple of years it will probably become a serious turnaround play.

Again the usual caveats apply with strong tenant rights it could be a long time before any significant improvement in average rent levels is achieved.

Newly rented properties could probably buck this trend as the availability of equivalent accommodation in Greater Berlin at comparable rates disappears.

The borough is very much a speculative investment area for investors with a long term perspective and again improvements will be property specific.

With an "Owner Occupancy" rate greater than 16% if is one of a group of four boroughs (Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Reinickendorf, Treptow-Köpenick and Marzahn-Hellersdorf) which have noticeably higher owner occupancy rates than elsewhere in the city. The common geographic locations of these four boroughs, stretching out to the rural periphery of the city boundaries, is indicative of higher owner occupancy rates in more rural neighbourhoods which have higher levels of single family properties.

Unless there was to be a significant increase in the quantity of single-family residential properties or alternatively increases in the construction of speculative multi-family properties the current occupancy rates should be maintained. With the borough having the lowest average rental rates in the city cheap accommodation will hold back any major change from rental to owner occupancy in more built up neighbourhoods. Without the push of increased owner occupancy rates the borough is unlikely to benefit from any premium on property values that these higher rates generally can lead to. For more information on "Owner Occupancy Rates" and other general analysis data visit our Graphs of Economic Performance page.

Landmarks and Attractions

As an old East Berlin District it naturally did not have a significant investment in this type of development. It now has a profile of resources comparable with most "Western" areas.

One of the most recent retail developments "EASTGATE Berlin" is one of the largest shopping centres in the eastern area of Berlin covering over 50,000 m2 of retail/leisure space. Set within a previously run down area in Marzahn it has helped to transform the locality. The centre is a bold architectural statement with its signature curved roof structure.

The Bockwindmühle Marzahn is a full working windmill where a real-life miller grinds flour not just for the visitors but also for local bakers. The windmill is a popular visitor attraction. "Galerie M" is a renowned gallery and exhibition space. Marzahn-Hellersdorf has a rich inheritance of archaeological sites and the district museum in the old village school Marzahn has a display of ancient artefacts dating back to 9000BC. It also has a collection of literature, documents, photos, maps and other historical objects.

The Gründerzeitmuseum is housed in an old farm house which now contains a collection of Wilhelminian furniture and turn-of-the-century mechanical musical instruments. It also has a garden which holds a varied and sophisticated programme of cultural events.

Erholungspark Marzahn: Opened in 1987 as the "Berlin Garden Show" is a year round attraction with extensive recreation areas, themed gardens and playgrounds. It includes a Chinese Garden the "Garten des Wiedergewonnen Mondes", one of the largest in Europe.

A Japanese Walled Garden containing ponds, streams, and stone gardens, complemented by typical Japanese plants, including maples, azalea, and magnolias. An addition to "Gardens of the World" theme in the park is the Balinese Garden housed within a greenhouse to protect the tropical plants from the elements.

The industrial park "Berlin eastside commercial strip" extends from north to south along the border between Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Lichtenberg and is Berlin's largest continuous industrial estate covering over 900 hectares.

Neighbourhood Areas of Marzahn-Hellensdorf

Marzahn, Biesdorf, Kaulsdorf, Mahlsdorf, Hellersdorf.