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Buy a multi-family building in Berlin, calculated from the rent.

You buy a multi-family building in Berlin by the rent: a multiple of the annual rent, in 2026 on average 20.9 times (Guthmann Estate, as of 13 October 2026), roughly 4.8 per cent gross yield. Add 6 per cent transfer tax, notary, land register and commission. Many never reach a portal; they go first to investors with a purchase profile.

Four buildings currently on offer Multiplier always with rent basis Brand since 1995

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Your purchase profile

Four short steps, then your contact details.

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What are you looking for? (multiple choice)

Where are you looking? (multiple choice)

What purchase price per property? (multiple choice)

Your criteria (all optional)

Who is buying, and how can we reach you?

Only for questions about this purchase profile.

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In brief

How do I buy a multi-family building in Berlin?

In five steps: you save a purchase profile, check each offer against the rent roll, view the building, clarify the financing with your bank and have the purchase contract notarised. The calculation is based on annual rents excluding service charges. Because many buildings are never advertised, it is best to start with the profile rather than the portal.

As of 14 November 2026

Currently available

Four buildings you can view today.

We offer these buildings publicly. Three are in Berlin, one in Potsdam. As of 14 November 2026; the offer may change.

You will find all buildings of this kind under multi-family buildings on offer. If you are searching outside Berlin, the key figures for the surrounding area are on the page Multi-family building in Brandenburg.

Term

Is a Zinshaus the same as a multi-family building?

For this page, yes. We call a building with several flats that is let and brings its owner rental income a Zinshaus (apartment building) or multi-family building. Rental building and yield property are also in use. If the building has a significant commercial element, such as a shop on the ground floor, agents speak of a mixed-use residential and commercial building. How much commercial use you accept, you state in the purchase profile.

Without a listing

Why are many multi-family buildings never on a portal?

Because a public listing unsettles tenants and neighbours. Many owners do not want that and have their building offered to a small circle only. Anyone who wants to buy an apartment building and reads only the portals will therefore not see these buildings at all. How the discreet route looks from the owner's side is explained on the page Off-market property in Berlin.

For you as a buyer, it works like this:

01

Save search profile

You tell us which investment you are looking for, how much you will put in per property and whether you buy privately or as a company. Property type, location, purchase price and buyer type are required in the form above, plus your contact details.

02

We match

When a building comes in, we check the search profiles in our database to see who it suits. If it suits yours, you will hear from us. That can be before a listing or without one altogether.

03

Confidentiality first, then tenancy agreements

You receive tenancy agreements and tenant data only once you have confirmed confidentiality in writing and the commission has been set in text form.

04

Calculate, view, notarise

You calculate from the rent roll, view the building and submit your offer. The notary draws up the purchase contract. At handover, rent deposits and documents pass to you.

With us, purchase profile and search profile mean the same thing. A purchase profile for multi-family buildings contains the details that our search profile also asks for.

Before the offer

What do I get from BBI before I make an offer?

We put three things in front of you before you bid: the rent roll, the multiplier with its rent basis and the condition of the building.

01

The rent roll

For each flat, the net cold rent, the service charges, the term of the contract and any vacancy. The rent roll must match the contracts, because you calculate your price from it.

02

The multiplier with rent basis

We always state the price-to-rent multiplier together with the rent it relates to: the annual rent excluding service charges. An example with assumed figures: €100,000 annual rent and €2,100,000 purchase price give a multiplier of 21.

03

The condition

Year of construction, state of refurbishment and the larger maintenance work of recent years, plus the energy performance certificate. What has been left undone over the years also belongs here.

BBI is a Berlin agency brand since 1995 with an office at Kurfürstendamm 178-179, 10707 Berlin, and part of NAI apollo. We work under a licence under § 34c GewO (German Trade Regulation Act).

Price

How much does a multi-family building cost in Berlin?

The annual rent is what counts. In 2026, Berlin multi-family buildings sold on average at 20.9 times the annual rent excluding service charges (490 purchase contracts, Guthmann Estate based on the transaction data of the valuation committee, as of 13 October 2026). By district, the range runs from 15.9 times in Marzahn-Hellersdorf to 24.6 times in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (Guthmann Estate, retrieved 3 November 2026).

A worked example with assumed figures: with €100,000 annual rent, 20.9 times gives €2,090,000. The average purchase price of a multi-family building in 2024 was around €2.65 million (Berlin valuation committee, Gutachterausschuss für Grundstückswerte, time series for built-up plots). The values for all districts are in the Berlin price-to-rent multiplier market report. How a building is valued step by step from its rents is explained in the guide Valuing a multi-family building in Berlin.

The Guthmann values are not official; only the figures of the valuation committee are official.

Yield

What yield does a multi-family building in Berlin bring?

Roughly 4.8 per cent gross on a Berlin average, on paper. To work this out, divide 100 by the multiplier: at 20.9 that is 4.78 per cent. In Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (multiplier 24.6) it is around 4.1 per cent, in Marzahn-Hellersdorf (multiplier 15.9) around 6.3 per cent, although this district value rests on few sales. For 2023 to 2025, the valuation committee reports an average of 23.5 times, around 4.3 per cent; the two values are not directly comparable (price-to-rent multiplier market report).

The technical term is gross initial yield: one year's rent in relation to the purchase price. Repairs, property management, rent losses, additional purchase costs, interest and taxes are not yet included. What remains in the end is shown only by the rent roll of the individual building, and we do not promise a yield. The Berlin price-to-rent multiplier market report shows the calculation; the tax depreciation (AfA) calculator shows how depreciation works (not tax advice).

Check

What should I look for when checking a multi-family building?

First, the rent. Divide the net cold rent of each flat by its floor area and compare the result with the local comparative rent. Our rent calculator gives this for every address using the 2026 rent index (Mietspiegel); it also checks residential location and the rent cap (Mietpreisbremse). Why this comes first: a low multiplier on high rents and a high multiplier on low rents can describe the same building.

Maintenance

The multiplier knows nothing about a maintenance backlog, vacancy or remaining useful life. Two buildings with the same multiplier can therefore be worth very different amounts. Ask when the roof, façade, heating and pipework were last renewed, and ask to see the invoices. In the case of the apartment building in Wedding from the list above, the façade was insulated in 2025. Such a detail belongs in the calculation, because it changes what has to be paid in the coming years.

Social preservation areas

If the building lies in a social preservation area (Milieuschutz), the municipality has a right of first refusal (§ 24 para. 1 no. 4 BauGB, German Federal Building Code); how far this extends since the court ruling of 2021, and what a change in the law would alter, is something to clarify with your legal adviser. Whether an address is affected is shown by the Berlin social preservation area map, down to the house number. What else applies in an individual area, clarify before bidding with the district office or your legal adviser.

Kaufnebenkosten (additional purchase costs)

What additional costs come with the purchase?

In Berlin you pay 6 per cent real estate transfer tax, plus roughly 1 per cent of the purchase price for notary and land register on a building of this size, and the agent's commission as agreed. At a purchase price of €2,100,000 (assumption), that is €126,000 in tax and in the order of €20,000 for notary and land register; the notary will state the exact amount. The bank does not usually finance these amounts as well, so you must bring them yourself. It is best to discuss financing the purchase price with your bank before the first building comes up.

The individual items are explained in the guide Additional purchase costs in Berlin.

And with a share deal?

Some buildings belong to a company and are sold through its shares. Real estate transfer tax is also due then if you acquire at least 90 per cent of the shares. For a smaller stake, what counts is whether at least 90 per cent in total passes to new shareholders within ten years (§ 1 para. 2a, 2b, 3 and 3a GrEStG, German Real Estate Transfer Tax Act). How a share purchase affects you in an individual case is for your tax adviser to clarify.

Dividing

May I divide a multi-family building after buying it?

Yes, but with more than five flats, dividing into owner-occupied flats in Berlin requires approval from the district office (§ 250 BauGB, German Federal Building Code, with the Berlin conversion ordinance, in force from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030). The law names five cases in which approval must be granted, for example a sale for owner occupation to at least two thirds of the tenants. With up to five flats this requirement does not apply, but in a social preservation area (Milieuschutz) the approval requirement for preservation areas (§ 172 BauGB) continues to apply.

If you are counting on selling the flats individually, you should therefore plan for time and a possible refusal. If you hold the building as a whole as a rental property, you need neither a declaration of division nor approval under § 250. The rules in detail are in the guide Declaration of division and conversion ban in Berlin (as of 20 October 2026).

We do not promise a yield. This page is not investment, legal or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Buy a multi-family building in Berlin: frequently asked questions.

Answers as of 14 November 2026

Does it make sense to buy a multi-family building?

That can only be checked for the individual building, using four figures: the annual rent excluding service charges, the purchase price including additional costs, the cost of your loan and what needs doing to the building in the coming years. Your taxes come on top. We do not promise a yield, and we give no recommendation for or against a purchase here. You will get the building's figures from us. The calculation is done with your bank and your tax adviser.

What do I need to bear in mind when buying a multi-family building?

First read the rent roll and compare it with the tenancy agreements, because as a buyer you step into all existing tenancies (§ 566 BGB, German Civil Code). Next come the year of construction, state of refurbishment, energy performance certificate, a current land register extract and the information from the register of building encumbrances. If the building lies in a preservation area (Erhaltungsgebiet), the municipality has a right of first refusal (§ 24 para. 1 no. 4 BauGB, German Federal Building Code); how far this extends since the court ruling of 2021 is something to clarify with your legal adviser. Also include the additional purchase costs in your calculation: in Berlin, real estate transfer tax alone is 6 per cent.

How much does a multi-family building cost in Berlin?

The average purchase price was around €2.65 million (Berlin valuation committee, Gutachterausschuss für Grundstückswerte, time series for built-up plots, 2024 edition). The price-to-rent multiplier says more: in 2026, multi-family buildings sold on average at 20.9 times the annual rent excluding service charges (490 purchase contracts, Guthmann Estate based on the transaction data of the valuation committee, as of 13 October 2026). In nine districts with a published value, the range runs from 15.9 to 24.6 times the annual rent (Guthmann Estate, retrieved 3 November 2026).

How do I find buildings that are not listed on portals?

Through a search profile with an agent who handles such buildings. Many apartment buildings are never advertised. They go first to investors who have told us beforehand what they are looking for. Enter the property type, budget and buyer type above. When a suitable building comes in, we will get in touch, even before it is advertised. The search profile costs you nothing.

What is a purchase profile?

A purchase profile describes what an investor wants to buy: property type, location, budget per property and whether they buy privately or as a company. Some add a minimum size, the year of construction or the multiplier up to which they will go. With us, purchase profile and search profile mean the same thing: property type, location, purchase price and buyer type are required, plus your contact details; all other criteria are optional. The more precise your details, the less often you will be shown a building that does not fit.

Who pays the agent's commission when buying a multi-family building?

That is set out in the agency agreement. The statutory equal split of the commission applies only when a private individual buys a flat or a detached house (§§ 656c and 656d BGB, German Civil Code). It does not apply to a multi-family building. The amount of the commission and who pays it is agreed in text form before marketing begins. You will receive the commission notice in text form before the notary appointment.

Read more

What really helps at this point.

Price-to-rent multiplier BerlinHow many annual rents excluding service charges are in the purchase price, by district. Valuing a multi-family buildingFrom gross income to value, with the deductions in between. Social preservation area map BerlinAll designated areas, checked down to the house number. Investment property at BBIFlats, packages and market figures for investors.

Your search profile for multi-family buildings in Berlin.

Property type, location and purchase price, plus your contact details. We will get in touch as soon as a suitable building comes in.

Save search profile