ᐅ Plots of Land in Cologne Only Available Through Developers?

I asked the same question further up.

My experience is based on the greater Koblenz area.

We ourselves live in Cologne Dellbrück and are currently searching. Therefore, I am also interested in newspapers that usually make sense.

Best regards

R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
Regarding classified ads:
I can’t imagine it results in much except extremely overpriced offers, right?

Hello everyone,

Our experience is as follows: We found both our apartment and our current plot of land through our own classified ads. Both immediately, both without an agent, and both at very fair prices. That might be luck, coincidence, or something else—it’s just our personal experience.

What’s clear is that placing ads costs quite a bit of money, but that’s the price to avoid getting lost among hundreds of posts in the “Wanted” section. Also clear: the response rate won’t be enough to start your own real estate agency the next day.

It certainly depends on HOW you write your ad. A text like “Looking for a plot, reference 123456” will probably be about as successful as “Buy any car” or some other vague approach. You’ll need to reveal a bit more about yourself since it may involve future neighbors (in case of plot division) or at least the new owners of a beloved family property. From our experience, families are usually welcome as buyers.

A newspaper ad in a Cologne daily can reach people who aren’t heavy internet users, who don’t feel pressured to sell, and who don’t want hundreds of calls or messages. There’s also a group of people who dislike agents and prefer to rent or sell directly. So far, we’ve never had to pay an agent—but again, that could be luck or coincidence.

That is the compensating factor for newspaper ads: if successful, you usually save on agent fees. With land prices above 500 EUR per square meter (about $540 per square yard), you could even place several ads before the cost advantage disappears.

The downside of ads is that you can’t target just one neighborhood; it has to be a larger area. So, for example, someone looking only in Dellbrück might be better off distributing flyers in mailboxes on preferred streets. That doesn’t make sense in a new development area but there are still enough building gaps in older areas—and often relatives or at least good acquaintances of owners in the same street still have undeveloped plots.

Recently, I discussed this with a notary in Cologne. There are still plenty of undeveloped plots or large properties with potential to be divided, even in popular parts of Cologne. And from what we’ve seen among friends, these tend to be sold at fair prices in private sales between individuals.

In conclusion: Given the current competition for undeveloped plots, it might make sense not to rely solely on online portals where you face 300 other interested parties storming the seller, but to take some effort and try your own approach. That is my personal opinion.

@Traumfaenger

What your notary told you about subdividing plots is often seen in Hahnwald. The trend seems to be moving toward smaller plots. I find 500–800 m² (5,380–8,610 sq ft) ideal if you want around 200 m² (2,150 sq ft) of living space plus some privacy, a driveway, and so on.

I find your ideas very interesting. A good strategy would be to really focus on selected locations. In Weiß, for example, I particularly like everything east of Weißer Hauptstraße. There are also open areas there. Something could definitely be started. Earlier, while walking there with my wife, I even said we should knock on the door of the old place to see if they might want to sell… but I think that kind of “cold calling” goes too far into the residents’ personal rights and is basically just a shot in the dark.

I like the idea of flyers better. Or posting notices in community centers, supermarkets, or similar places.

If you still have the text of the newspaper ad you placed back then, feel free to send it to me via private message.

Traumfaenger schrieb:
Hello everyone,

here is our experience: We found both our apartment and our current plot of land through our own advertisements. Both were successful on the first try, both without real estate agents, and both at very reasonable prices. This could be coincidence, luck, or something else—it’s just our personal experience.

What is clear: placing ads costs a lot of money, but that is the price you pay to avoid getting lost among hundreds in the “seeking” section. Also, it’s clear that the response rate won’t be enough to start your own real estate agency the next day.

It probably also depends on HOW you write your ad. A text like “Looking for land, reference 123456” will likely be as successful as “Buy any car” or another generic appeal. You will need to provide a bit more information about yourself, after all, it may concern future neighbors (in case of land subdivision) or at least the new owners of a cherished family property. In our experience, families are generally welcomed as buyers.

An ad in the Cologne daily newspaper can reach people who are not heavy internet users, don’t want to be under sales pressure, and don’t want hundreds of calls or messages. Then, there is also a group of people who dislike real estate agents and prefer to rent or sell directly. So far, we have never had to pay a real estate agent, but again that might be luck or coincidence.

This is also the compensating advantage of a newspaper ad: If successful, you usually save the agent’s commission. With land prices over 500 euros per square meter (about $540 per square yard), you could even place several ads before the cost-saving is offset.

There is one disadvantage with ads though: You can’t place them for just one neighborhood, only for larger areas. That means that someone looking, for example, only in Dellbrück might be better off distributing flyers or similar materials directly into mailboxes on preferred streets. That doesn’t make sense in new development areas, but there are still plenty of building gaps in older residential areas — and not uncommonly, relatives or at least good acquaintances of owners live on the same street who still have undeveloped land.

I recently talked to a notary in Cologne who confirmed there are indeed still plenty of undeveloped plots or very large plots with subdivision potential, even in popular Cologne locations. And as we see among friends, these private-to-private sales sell at prices fair to both parties.

Conclusion: In the current competition for undeveloped land, it might make sense not to rely only on online portals where you compete with 300 other interested parties, but to take some extra effort and explore your own ways. Just my personal opinion.

Thank you for the detailed reply. I would also appreciate if you could share the text and the names of the newspapers where you placed the ads.

Best regards

Chris29.2 schrieb:
Thank you for the detailed response.
I would also appreciate the text and the names of the newspapers where you placed adverts.

Hello Chris29.2,
unfortunately, I cannot reply to you via private message because since this week the following error message appears on your profile: "The following errors occurred
The Server responded with an error. The error message is in the JavaScript console."

Traumfaenger schrieb:
Hello Chris29.2,
unfortunately, I can’t reply to you via private message because this error message has been appearing on your profile since last week: "The following errors occurred
The Server responded with an error. The error message is in the JavaScript console."

Hi Traumfaenger,

I sent you a private message.

Regards