ᐅ Only one-third of the new apartments sold 1.5 years after the launch
Created on: 7 Jan 2024 11:27
T
TorstenKandt
Hello everyone,
I am considering buying a condominium in Düsseldorf Benrath. The developer Bonava is building two apartment buildings with a total of about 90 units. Sales started in summer 2022. Currently, 1.5 years after the sales launch, the shell construction is completed, and the move-in date is scheduled for autumn 2024 (according to the developer, construction is fully on schedule). What puzzles me is that of the 90 units, only about half are currently “officially” on the market or have been listed on the website, and of those, only about half have been sold so far. So overall, only about one-quarter to one-third of all units have been sold, 1.5 years after the sales started and three-quarters of a year before completion. Bonava is also advertising extensively through Google Ads and has numerous listings on property portals like Immoscout.
Does anyone know if this is normal (in today’s market), and whether there could be any risk for me as a buyer if the developer does not sell all the units? As mentioned, the shell is finished, but windows, electrical work, and other installations are still missing.
Best regards
Torsten
I am considering buying a condominium in Düsseldorf Benrath. The developer Bonava is building two apartment buildings with a total of about 90 units. Sales started in summer 2022. Currently, 1.5 years after the sales launch, the shell construction is completed, and the move-in date is scheduled for autumn 2024 (according to the developer, construction is fully on schedule). What puzzles me is that of the 90 units, only about half are currently “officially” on the market or have been listed on the website, and of those, only about half have been sold so far. So overall, only about one-quarter to one-third of all units have been sold, 1.5 years after the sales started and three-quarters of a year before completion. Bonava is also advertising extensively through Google Ads and has numerous listings on property portals like Immoscout.
Does anyone know if this is normal (in today’s market), and whether there could be any risk for me as a buyer if the developer does not sell all the units? As mentioned, the shell is finished, but windows, electrical work, and other installations are still missing.
Best regards
Torsten
T
TorstenKandt7 Jan 2024 19:27Waiting and buying once the apartments are completed carries the significant risk that the (good) units will already be gone.
The number of sold units can be seen on the website and in the price list I received.
I am aware that Bonova (and many other developers) are generally going through a difficult phase. That is why I am asking here in the forum, to get an idea of how serious the situation is (whether the low number of sold apartments so far indicates a small disaster or if this is relatively normal).
The number of sold units can be seen on the website and in the price list I received.
I am aware that Bonova (and many other developers) are generally going through a difficult phase. That is why I am asking here in the forum, to get an idea of how serious the situation is (whether the low number of sold apartments so far indicates a small disaster or if this is relatively normal).
J
jens.knoedel7 Jan 2024 20:16TorstenKandt schrieb:
I know that Bonova (and many other developers) are generally going through a difficult phase. That’s why I’m asking here in the forum—to get an idea of how serious the situation is (whether the low number of apartments sold indicates a small disaster or if that’s relatively normal). Two years ago: It would have been a disaster if this was happening in Düsseldorf (then the developer must have done something completely wrong despite a seller’s market).
Today: It is a disaster if this is happening in Düsseldorf (then the developer started a project when everything was still going great and was caught off guard. Now, just like two years ago, they have created a slow-selling property).
==> but now it’s normal. Some survive because they have enough financial cushion, and buyers get a decent product. Others fail during the construction phase, leaving buyers with issues involving the insolvency administrator. Sometimes the project is never finished. The media is full of insolvencies and halted construction projects.
I know it doesn’t help that this situation has become a normal kind of disaster today. Personally, I don’t find the apartments in Benrath very impressive. The location is more than mediocre… and for that price?
H
HilfeHilfe8 Jan 2024 06:25Definitely stay away and wait. Such a big project can still go wrong nowadays.
H
hanghaus20238 Jan 2024 13:27If the dream apartment is available, wait and/or negotiate.
Different developer, different property type (semi-detached and terraced houses), and a slightly different location (one of the smaller towns in the eastern Ruhr area), but in our development, it looks very similar. It was marketed starting, I believe, spring (?) 2022, then there were delays due to clarifications with the city, which meant the notarized contracts were only signed from the end of 2022 onwards (anyone looking at the interest rate developments in 2022 knows this effectively meant about a doubling of the monthly payments for buyers, even though the price remained the same). In 2023, it was often the case that units were reserved but then became available again, and our developer also mentioned that there were interested parties, but many withdrew after discussions with the bank. Other projects seem to be doing somewhat better, but with ours, there is really little movement in that direction.
It’s also not the most attractive location (fairly well connected, but not the nicest neighborhood itself), and I suspect the expensive units have become unaffordable for many due to the increased interest costs, while most of the cheaper ones are already gone (only a mid-terraced house under 500k is still available – and I guess for many that is still pushing their limits at the moment). I believe if the interest rates had been different, we might have considered one of the more expensive units, but as it was, it was tight enough as it stood.
Our developer had the advantage that the area on sale so far was divided into four construction phases, and the sold units were limited to exactly two of them. They then rearranged the order so they started with those phases, even though the original plan was different.
Our house is now relatively far along (so I’m not worried it won’t be finished), but I also hope a bit that more buyers will come forward soon for the remaining units, to create more incentive to tackle the rest and avoid having a construction site in front of the door forever...
Long story short: it’s like that for us, too—whether this is the general rule, I can’t say.
It’s also not the most attractive location (fairly well connected, but not the nicest neighborhood itself), and I suspect the expensive units have become unaffordable for many due to the increased interest costs, while most of the cheaper ones are already gone (only a mid-terraced house under 500k is still available – and I guess for many that is still pushing their limits at the moment). I believe if the interest rates had been different, we might have considered one of the more expensive units, but as it was, it was tight enough as it stood.
Our developer had the advantage that the area on sale so far was divided into four construction phases, and the sold units were limited to exactly two of them. They then rearranged the order so they started with those phases, even though the original plan was different.
Our house is now relatively far along (so I’m not worried it won’t be finished), but I also hope a bit that more buyers will come forward soon for the remaining units, to create more incentive to tackle the rest and avoid having a construction site in front of the door forever...
Long story short: it’s like that for us, too—whether this is the general rule, I can’t say.
mayglow schrieb:
It’s not exactly the most attractive location (fairly well connected, but not the nicest area), Actually, that’s a typical feature of most developer-led neighborhood projects, unless they are called something like "Graf von Allerfeinst Quarter" (and even those still make multi-millionaires shed tears of sympathy).
TorstenKandt schrieb:
Waiting and buying once the apartments are finished carries the big risk that the (good) units are already gone. They are usually gone even before the developer has purchased the land.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
If the dream apartment is available, wait and/or negotiate. There is nothing to negotiate. At least not for individual buyers.
TorstenKandt schrieb:
Is there a risk for me as a buyer if the developer doesn’t sell all the apartments? They do get sold, if necessary en bloc.
TorstenKandt schrieb:
The developer Bonava is building 2 apartment buildings with a total of about 90 apartments. Sales started in summer 2022. Currently, 1.5 years after sales started, the shell construction is completed 90 residential units spread across T.W.O. apartment buildings can hardly be divided into at least three construction phases, which is quite risky. What would bother me the most in your position is that the units will then be divided into at most two homeowners’ associations. You are effectively outvoted even before the owners’ meeting has begun.
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