Multi-family buildings in Brandenburg: buying, selling and key figures

Price-to-rent multiplier and capitalisation rate in Brandenburg

A let multi-family building is valued on the basis of its rent. Two key figures describe this. The gross rent multiplier divides the purchase price by the annual net cold rent (Potsdam market report 2025, p. 115); on our Berlin pages, the same calculation is called the price-to-rent multiplier (Kaufpreisfaktor). The multiplier of 20.7 for the Berlin commuter belt therefore means that buyers paid on average 20.7 times the annual rent excluding ancillary costs. The capitalisation rate is the interest rate at which the market capitalises such buildings. Valuers use it in the income capitalisation approach (Ertragswertverfahren) and read it as a market adjustment (Capitalisation rates 2025, p. 4).

The Upper Valuation Committee derives both values from sales in the years 2023 to 2025, separately for the Berlin commuter belt excluding Potsdam, the outer metropolitan area excluding independent cities and the independent cities excluding Potsdam. Only buildings let on a sustained basis with a commercial share of the rent of no more than 20 per cent and a remaining useful life of at least 20 years are included (Capitalisation rates 2025, p. 5, p. 33 f.). For Potsdam, the city's valuation committee determines its own values.

The capitalisation rates are averages and must be adjusted to the individual building. For valuation reports, the values of the regional valuation committees take precedence, especially in Potsdam (Capitalisation rates 2025, p. 5). The regional valuation committees also publish their own capitalisation rates in their market reports (State report 2025, p. 108).

In the Berlin commuter belt, the capitalisation rate rose from 2.5 per cent (purchase years 2021 to 2023) to 3.2 per cent (2023 to 2025). Sales in 2025 alone give 3.4 per cent from 25 transactions, 3.9 per cent from 82 transactions in the outer metropolitan area and 2.9 per cent in the independent cities excluding Potsdam (Capitalisation rates 2025, p. 7, p. 8, p. 10). With the same rent, a higher capitalisation rate means a lower income value.

For Berlin, price-to-rent multipliers by district and the capitalisation rate of the Berlin valuation committee are on the page Price-to-rent multiplier Berlin. When comparing, note that there the multiplier is the value in the middle of all sales, i.e. a median from a different analysis; here it is the average of the valuation committee's sample.

Buying a multi-family building in Brandenburg: what investors look out for

The following points are general checks before a purchase. They do not replace legal or tax advice in the individual case.

• Rent roll and tenancy agreements. With the building, you take over the existing tenancies (§ 566 BGB, German Civil Code). Valuers use the actual net cold rents if they sufficiently match the rents achievable in the market (Capitalisation rates 2025, p. 33). For this reason, compare each rent with the local reference rent.
• Rent cap (Mietpreisbremse) and cap on rent increases (Kappungsgrenze). In 36 municipalities in Brandenburg, since 1 January 2026 the rent on a new letting may be no more than 10 per cent above the local reference rent; the ordinance applies until 31 December 2029. In the same municipalities, the rent under an existing tenancy may rise by no more than 15 per cent instead of 20 per cent within three years, limited until 31 December 2030 (§ 556d, § 558 para. 3 BGB). The municipalities are listed below.
• Condition and remaining useful life. In the valuation committee's sample, the buildings in the Berlin commuter belt had an average remaining useful life of 45 years, and those in the outer metropolitan area 34 years. From 2025, its model assumes €14.0 per square metre of living space per year for maintenance, €359 per flat for management and 2 per cent for the risk of rent loss (Capitalisation rates 2025, p. 7 f., p. 32). If a lot of work on the roof, heating or pipes has been left undone, that belongs in the purchase price calculation.
• Energy performance certificate. The seller must present it at the viewing at the latest (§ 80 para. 4 GModG, Building Modernisation Act). Ask for it before you submit a bid. What belongs in an advert is explained in the guide Energy performance certificate and mandatory information.
• Development plan and land value. Whether more may be built on the plot depends on the development plan (Bebauungsplan, § 30 BauGB). Within built-up areas without a development plan, what matters is whether a project fits into the character of its immediate surroundings (§ 34 BauGB). Ask the municipality. The land value is indicated by the standard land value (Bodenrichtwert), available free of charge in the BORIS Land Brandenburg portal (State report 2025, p. 105).
• Additional purchase costs. Real estate transfer tax in Brandenburg is 6.5 per cent. The equal split of the agent's commission under § 656c BGB applies only to the purchase of a flat or a single-family house, not to a multi-family building. More on this in the guide Agent's commission.

Municipalities with the rent cap and the lowered cap on rent increases since 1 January 2026: independent city: Potsdam; Barnim district: Ahrensfelde, Bernau bei Berlin, Biesenthal, Panketal; Dahme-Spreewald district: Bestensee, Eichwalde, Königs Wusterhausen, Schönefeld, Schulzendorf, Wildau, Zeuthen; Havelland district: Brieselang, Falkensee, Schönwalde-Glien; Märkisch-Oderland district: Altlandsberg, Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf, Rehfelde, Strausberg; Oberhavel district: Birkenwerder, Glienicke/Nordbahn, Leegebruch, Mühlenbecker Land, Oranienburg; Oder-Spree district: Erkner, Grünheide (Mark), Woltersdorf; Potsdam-Mittelmark district: Kleinmachnow, Nuthetal, Stahnsdorf, Teltow, Werder (Havel); Teltow-Fläming district: Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Großbeeren, Ludwigsfelde, Zossen (Brandenburg Rent Cap Ordinance and Cap on Rent Increases Ordinance of 3 December 2025).

Selling a multi-family building in Brandenburg: process and documents

A multi-family building sells differently from an owner-occupied flat. The buyers are investors, and they base their sums on the rents the building brings in. In the Berlin commuter belt, we work to the same standards as in Berlin; the local offices are responsible for the land register and building encumbrances.