Rent out or sell a condominium? Decision in times of crisis?

Then you actually benefit twice from your apartment now. 1.) You could only afford the house because of it 2.) You bought before the really big price increase (around 40%) from 2019/20 and thus have a high appreciation in value. Therefore, just don’t sell.

The logic doesn’t make sense to me. Both are in the past; only the future should be relevant for the decision. And the outlook is rather mixed. Whether Berlin will continue to grow is hard for me to assess, but the interest rate situation will make it difficult everywhere to even maintain prices. The low interest rates were one of the major price drivers. Sure, younger properties will be less affected than old ones, but inevitably all will be affected. Furthermore, I don’t see the estimated multiplier of 29 as uncritical. That corresponds to about 3.5% or roughly the current interest rate level. However, for rental with profit, reserves and profit still need to be generated. Whether the multiplier will improve in the medium term through rent increases is questionable, especially in Berlin. The view forward is noticeably less rosy than the one in the rearview mirror. Ultimately, I would decide mainly based on the question of what you do with the money.

Exactly, if you just want to put the money in the bank, that is not sensible with inflation. And I referred to the value of the apartment in view of the fact that the apartment was estimated at 462k in 2019 and he probably bought it cheaper in 2016 (400k?). Since prices have also risen sharply in recent years for new builds. That is why even with a small loss in value he would hardly lose anything, because the increase in value in recent years has been disproportionate and will probably never fall below the purchase price of the property from 2016 again, since it is such a currently popular energy-efficient new building, which has much lower ancillary costs than old houses. And precisely such a thing will probably be in demand in the coming years, since we probably will never return to pre-crisis levels in energy prices and well-insulated houses are very advantageous there. And good location in Berlin: If not there, where else in Germany will rents rise? Because all rent caps etc. have been overturned. And the logic is quite simple. High interest rates => hardly any economic new construction possible => more potential tenants who cannot buy => less supply for each tenant of modern energy-efficient new-build apartments => higher rents => further rising inflation => higher costs for landlords => passed on to the rental market => rising rent levels

It was only 300 TEUR. I also believe that Berlin will continue to rise for a while. But much more moderately than before.

High interest rates => hardly any economic new construction possible => more potential tenants who cannot buy => less supply of modern, energy-efficient new apartments for each tenant => higher rental prices => further rising inflation => higher costs for landlords => passed on to the rental market => rising rent levels

You forgot politics. They simply limit the increase to x% in y years. We already have that. Or to x% above the rent index, which is correspondingly delayed and is supposed to look further into the past in the future. With 8% inflation, you won’t even be able to increase by 8% per year approximately. If inflation remains high for a few more years, it’s quite possible that as a landlord you will have rapidly rising costs and can only pass on part of them.

And please don't misunderstand me. I am not fundamentally against renting out property. But sometimes I feel that real estate is seen through rose-colored glasses a bit too much in the house-building forum. Half of the population in Germany are tenants, and landlords are not well regarded in the left half of the political spectrum. Real estate is moderately illiquid, and prices are subject to great uncertainties (which is also part of the problem here: what is an appraisal from 2019 worth in 2022 with significantly higher interest rates?). In the case of special levies, real estate is an easy target because it is immobile. Of course, there are also advantages such as tax exemption after 10 years (although it is not guaranteed that this will last forever), in this case a cheaper old loan and a good tenant as well as new building fabric.

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In fact, this also somewhat affects my well-being and my "happiness" living in my own house. The advantages still outweigh for me, but an important point for me was that no one can "drive me away," I have influence over the additional costs, etc., and will "always" have a roof over my head ... Until recently, I hadn't thought about the fact that politics can almost anytime make owning my own home impossible in various ways. Maybe the increase (?) in property tax is just the beginning. Although I am still relatively unconcerned in that regard, since with currently under 60 euros per year for 567 sqm, I assume it will still be affordable for us even after the reform.