Selling an apartment building or multi-family house in Berlin

How does selling an apartment building in Berlin work?

The path from the first conversation to handover can be divided into six steps.

1. Collect data. Rent roll, tenancy agreements, land register extract (Grundbuch), energy performance certificate and the service charge statements of recent years.
2. Determine the value. The annual net cold rent, purchase price multiplier and income value give a price range. The methods are explained in the guide to valuation in Berlin.
3. Sign the agency agreement. The statutory equal split of the commission only applies to flats and detached houses, and only if the buyer is a consumer (§§ 656b to 656d BGB, German Civil Code), not to an apartment building. Before marketing, we therefore set out in writing how high the commission is and who pays it.
4. Market the house. Apartment buildings often go discreetly to investors who have given us their search profile.
5. Negotiate and review. The buyer checks the rent roll and documents.
6. Notary and handover. A purchase contract for a plot needs notarisation (§ 311b para. 1 BGB, German Civil Code). At handover, rent deposits and documents pass to the buyer.

The general process is described in Selling a property in Berlin, our service for investment houses on the page Sell an apartment building.

How is the price of an apartment building formed?

Investors buy rental income. That is why they work with the purchase price multiplier: the purchase price divided by the annual net cold rent, excluding heating and service charges. It tells you how many years' rent are in the price.

The current Berlin figures, each for notarised sales of multi-family houses:

• Berlin average: 20.9 in 2026, 22.4 in 2025. The peak was 32.1 in 2021.

The source is Guthmann Estate, based on the transaction data of the valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss), as of 13/10/2026 (114 of 490 sales are included; the figure keeps changing). Only the valuation committee's figures are official. All districts are shown on the page Purchase price multiplier Berlin. The calculated multiplier from asking prices for owner-occupied flats (about 30.6) cannot be compared with this: property type, data basis and timing differ.

Worked example with assumptions

The annual net cold rent is assumed; the multiplier comes from the figures above.

• Annual net cold rent of the house (assumption): €120,000
• Multiplier 20.9 (Berlin average): €120,000 × 20.9 = €2,508,000

At this rent, each point of multiplier is worth €120,000. If you divide 100 by the multiplier, you get the rental income relative to the purchase price before all costs: 100 ÷ 20.9 gives roughly 4.8 per cent. Costs and taxes are not included.

What does income value mean for an apartment building?

Valuers and banks value a house by its income value. It is determined on the basis of the income that can usually be achieved in the market (§ 27 para. 1 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance). The calculation has four parts.

• Gross income: the rents that can usually be achieved in the market with proper management (§ 31 para. 2 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance).
• Net income: gross income less management costs (§ 31 para. 1 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance). These include administration, maintenance, rent loss risk and operating costs that are not passed on (§ 32).
• Property yield rate (Liegenschaftszinssatz): the usual market return on such houses, adjusted to the property (§ 33 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance).
• Remaining useful life and land value: The share of net income attributable to the buildings is capitalised over the remaining useful life, and the land value is added (§ 28 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance).

The Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss) publishes the property yield rates. As of the reference date 31/12/2024, in the City area group they lie between 3.3% and 3.9% for net cold rents of €8 to €12 per square metre, with adjustments for individual former districts. In its model, for period buildings up to 1918 it assumes a remaining useful life of 55 years in good condition, 40 in normal and 25 in poor condition. The rates do not automatically replace the market adjustment if prices have moved since the reference date.

The income value is a calculated figure, not a sale price. It does show whether an asking price fits the rents.

How does the tenant structure affect the price?

With the sale, the landlord changes, but the tenancies stay. The buyer steps into the landlord's place with the rights and obligations arising from the tenancy during their period of ownership (§ 566 para. 1 BGB, German Civil Code). The seller is liable for the buyer like a guarantor. If the seller informs the tenants of the transfer of ownership, they are released from this liability, unless the tenant terminates at the first possible date (§ 566 para. 2 BGB).

What counts for the price is what the rent roll shows:

• Level of rents compared with the market. If the income differs significantly from what is usual in the market, the valuer may calculate with income that varies over time (§ 27 para. 1 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance).
• Vacancy and rent arrears. They enter the management costs through the rent loss risk (§ 32 para. 4 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance). The valuation committee did not include sales with more than 20 per cent vacancy in its rates.

Does the house have to be divided?

No. An apartment building can be sold as a whole to an investor, without a declaration of division. The tenancy agreements continue unchanged. Dividing into owner-occupied flats is a separate route.

• Approval. In areas with tight housing markets, creating condominium ownership in existing buildings needs approval, except for no more than five flats (§ 250 para. 1 BauGB, Federal Building Code). Under federal law, the Berlin ordinance may apply until 31 December 2030 at the latest.
• Preservation area. There, a second approval under § 172 para. 1 sentence 4 BauGB (Federal Building Code) may be added.
• Tenants' rights. If the owner sells a let flat to a third party after condominium ownership was or is to be created, the tenant has a right of first refusal (§ 577 BGB, German Civil Code). When the undivided house is sold, it generally arises only if the seller commits in the purchase contract to dividing it (Federal Court of Justice (BGH), judgment of 22 November 2013, V ZR 96/12). The buyer can only rely on personal use after three years, or up to ten years by state ordinance (§ 577a BGB); in Berlin a period of ten years applies (Termination Protection Clause Ordinance of 13 June 2023, until 30 September 2033).

If a buyer plans to divide after the purchase, this affects their price. We check this in advance. We explain the declaration of division and the approval requirement in the guide Declaration of division and conversion ban.

What do right of first refusal and social preservation areas (Milieuschutz) mean for the sale?

Milieu protection areas (social preservation areas) are preservation areas under § 172 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 2 BauGB (Federal Building Code). There, demolition, alteration and change of use of buildings need approval. For the sale, the municipality's right of first refusal matters most. It exists within the area of a preservation statute (§ 24 para. 1 no. 4 BauGB), but may only be exercised if the public interest justifies it (§ 24 para. 3). Our Milieu protection map Berlin shows whether your house lies in such an area.

The process after the notary appointment is regulated by law:

• The content of the purchase contract goes to the municipality without delay (§ 28 para. 1 BauGB, Federal Building Code).
• The municipality can only exercise the right by administrative act within three months of this notification (§ 28 para. 2).
• The land registry (Grundbuchamt) only registers the buyer once it has proof that the right was not exercised or does not exist. On request, the municipality issues a certificate for this (§ 28 para. 1).
• If the purchase price exceeds the market value (Verkehrswert), the municipality can set the amount to be paid according to the market value. The seller may then withdraw within one month of the decision becoming final (§ 28 para. 3).

The right cannot be exercised, among other cases, when selling to a spouse or close relatives (§ 26 no. 1 BauGB, Federal Building Code). The buyer can avert it under the conditions of § 27 BauGB. After notarisation, allow up to three months of waiting time, and clarify with the notary how the due date of the purchase price is tied to the municipality's certificate. For the tenants' right of first refusal, read Tenants' right of first refusal.

Which documents does the buyer need?

• Rent roll with area, net cold rent, advance payment and start of tenancy for each flat
• Tenancy agreements with amendments, and proof of rent deposits
• Current land register extract (Grundbuch)
• Energy performance certificate
• Service charge statements for recent years
• Proof of maintenance and modernisation work
• Building documents and plans, where available
• For houses that are already divided, the declaration of division

What buyers expect for any property is covered under Documents for selling a property. The rent roll must match the contracts, because the buyer calculates their price from it.

Which typical mistakes cost money?

• Pricing by living space. The rents are what matter.
• Mixing up two multipliers. The multiplier from listings (about 30.6) and the one from notarised sales (20.9) measure different things.
• A rent roll with gaps. If the list and the contracts differ, the buyer has reason to renegotiate the price.
• Clarifying the right of first refusal too late. If you do not allow for the three months, payment and handover are delayed.
• Settling the commission late. For an apartment building there is no statutory equal split.

If you want to know what your house is worth based on its rents, write to us via the contact page. You will also find a first estimate in our property valuation.

Sources

• § 566 BGB, sale does not break a lease
• § 577 BGB, tenant's right of first refusal
• § 577a BGB (German Civil Code), restriction on termination where flats are converted
• § 656c BGB (German Civil Code), entitlement to commission when acting for both parties
• § 656d BGB (German Civil Code), agreements on the agent's costs
• § 311b BGB (German Civil Code), contracts concerning plots
• § 24 Baugesetzbuch (BauGB, Federal Building Code), general right of first refusal
• § 26 BauGB, exclusion of the right of first refusal
• § 27 BauGB (Federal Building Code), averting the right of first refusal
• § 28 BauGB (Federal Building Code), procedure and compensation
• § 172 BauGB (Federal Building Code), preservation statute
• § 250 BauGB (Federal Building Code), formation of condominium ownership in areas with tight housing markets
• § 27 Immobilienwertermittlungsverordnung (ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance), basics of the income approach
• § 28 ImmoWertV (Real Estate Valuation Ordinance), general income approach
• § 31 ImmoWertV (Real Estate Valuation Ordinance), net income, gross income
• § 32 ImmoWertV (Real Estate Valuation Ordinance), management costs
• § 33 ImmoWertV (Real Estate Valuation Ordinance), property-specific adjusted property yield rate
• Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss für Grundstückswerte in Berlin), property yield rates 2025, reference date 31/12/2024
• Berlin Senate Department, conversion ordinance under § 250 BauGB (Federal Building Code)
• Guthmann Estate, Market Intelligence Berlin, Apartment Buildings (as of 13/10/2026, accessed on 20/10/2026)