November 2023

Residential real estate market: these are the developments

Tel Aviv has overtaken Paris as the most expensive real estate city in the Europe-Arabia-Africa economic area (EMEA region) with a price per square meter of EUR 14,740. South-eastern European countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary and Croatia recorded considerable price increases of over 20 percent. In contrast, the UK and Denmark experienced significant price declines of 17.9 and 9.6 percent respectively. The...

Young living: Dormitory places doubled

The number of dormitory places for students and trainees planned under the social housing promotion scheme has more than doubled this year thanks to the "Young Housing" funding program. This is according to a press release from the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building. While around 2,700 new places in halls of residence were planned for 2022, the number will rise to...

AI: use in the real estate industry is gaining in importance

More than a third of real estate professionals are thinking about using artificial intelligence (AI) in their buildings. 32 percent are already actively using AI. This is the result of a recent study by energy service provider Techem. The study shows that the greatest benefits of AI are expected in measures for CO2 reduction (53 percent) and adaptive learning, such as the adaptation...

Fraud: The grandchildren scam

The phone rings and an unknown voice asks, for example: "Guess who it is?". The victim, often an elderly person, makes a guess and the perpetrator slips into the appropriate role, often as a grandson. Using this basis of trust, the supposed grandson tells the victim about a planned house purchase for which a deposit is urgently needed and asks the grandmother or grandfather to...

Security: ageing smart home devices and their risks

Ageing smart home devices can pose a threat to security and privacy, especially if they no longer receive updates. This is the key finding of a recent study conducted by Worms University of Applied Sciences in collaboration with the University of Maribor. Over 500 people were surveyed for the study. The aim was to find out which factors influence the decision to use older...

Classroom buildings: platform shows sustainable solutions

The website of the Sustainable Teaching Buildings Network launched by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) provides information on environmentally friendly approaches to the planning, construction and operation of sustainable school and university buildings. The variety of topics ranges from constructional approaches to energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies to...

Building projects: Independent experts can safeguard interests

According to the Association of Private Building Owners (VPB), private building owners should engage their own independent experts on the construction site. For turnkey projects, construction companies often present architects as "your architect". However, the word "your" can be misleading. The planner or architect presented by the construction company is primarily responsible for the obligations towards...

Energy efficiency: The efficiency house for new builds

The Efficiency House is a key standard that defines the energy efficiency of residential buildings in comparison to a reference building. Two important key figures play a role here: the total energy requirement of the building and the quality of the thermal insulation. These criteria can be used to assess a building in concrete terms. Particularly worth mentioning is the efficiency house level 40, which...

Rent increase declaration: clarity essential for third-party funds

Landlords must provide their tenants with clear rent increase declarations. They must also provide information on the use of third-party funds. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (AZ: VIII ZR 416/21). In the case in question, a landlord had sent a tenant a declaration of rent increase, but did not refer to the use of third-party funds in this...

Living: Box spring sofas conquer the living room

According to the German Furniture Quality Association (DGM), box spring systems are also becoming increasingly popular in the living room. Jochen Winning, Managing Director of the DGM, emphasizes that box spring sofas offer the same comfort as their bed-based counterparts. The structure of such a sofa is similar to that of a bed: a spring box as a base, with a cushion on top, possibly supplemented by another mattress.

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