Three generations of Gulf Arabs have been enraptured with German luxury auto brands like Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Audi.
But please, please, do not fall in love with German homes or CRE as the Fatherland faces the mother/mutti of all property meltdowns.
New construction starts have plunged a ghastly 50% in H1 2023. Hundreds of property developers, squeezed by the sharp spike in borrowing costs, and a collapse in mortgage demand, have filed for insolvency.
For the first time since the collapse of the Berlin Wall and Chancellor Kohl’s bailout of the DDR’s ostmark, Germany is once again “the sick man of Europe.” A victim of stagflation as exports collapse, the industrial sector reels from the loss of cheap Russian gas, defence spending surges due to the Ukraine War as the Bundesweir re-arms for the first time since the 1930s.
To add insult to injury, Das Auto, 18% of German GDP, is assailed by cutthroat competition from cheap Chinese EV venders.
