Berlin may be known more for its techno clubs and all-round bohemianism, but the once-affordable German capital is now also home to fastest-rising property rates in the world.
Citing a study by property consultancy Frank Knight, the Guardian reports that real estate prices in Berlin leapt 20.5% in 2017, the highest year-on increase of any city in the world.
The study attributed Berlin’s meteoric property price growth to “strong population growth, a stable economy, record low unemployment and robust interest from overseas investors.”
Since 2004, property prices in Berlin had increased more than 120%, according to the Guardian. It wasn’t the only German city seeing explosive property rate inflation either: Hamburg, Munich, and Frankfurt also landed in the top 10.
The Turkish city of İzmir, where property rates jumped 18.5% last year, came in second behind Berlin, followed by Reykjavik, Iceland (16.6%). Vancouver, Canada (16.0%), Hong Kong (14.8%), and Budapest, Hungary (15.5%) rounded out the list’s top five.
In the U.S., average property prices rose 6.3%, with rates rising in Seattle (number 12 overall) and Francisco (27) by 12.7% and 9.3% respectively.
Berlin’s property prices have prompted warnings of a market bubble. In February, the German central bank warned that property rates in German urban centers may be overvalued by as much as 15%, and 35% in Berlin, Reuters reported.