German property prices rise at slower pace in second quarter

House and flat prices in Germany continue to rise, the Federal Statistical Office said on the basis of provisional figures released on Thursday.

Residential property prices were 0.6% higher in the second quarter than a year earlier on average. That marked the seventh consecutive increase, although the pace of growth is slowing.

The statistics office revised the figure for the first quarter downwards to 1.2% from 1.4%. Residential property in Germany was 0.3% more expensive in the spring than in the first quarter, according to the calculations.

In the seven largest cities - Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf - prices for owner-occupied flats fell slightly between April and June, both compared with the same quarter of the previous year (down 0.4%) and with the previous quarter (down 0.5%). However, price levels in these conurbations are comparatively high.

In large cities outside the top seven metropolitan areas, flats became 2.0% more expensive compared with the same quarter last year and 0.5% more expensive compared with the previous quarter.

In densely populated rural districts, buyers of flats paid less on average: prices fell both year-on-year (down 1.8%) and compared with the first three months of the current year (down 1.3%).