German Office Property Sales Up 50% in Last Nine Months

A relatively stable economic and employment status in Germany has generated office property sales of $8.22 billion (6.27 billion euros) over the last nine months, according to data researched by BNP Paribas SA's German real estate division.

In a prepared statement, the Paris-based bank said the sales surge was 50 percent higher than the comparable 2011 period and more than posted sales for all of the last five years. Berlin and Munich were investors' favorite buying locations.

The BNP statement noted office investments rose 172 percent in Berlin and 138 percent in Munich, Germany's most expensive city for workplace properties. But investments in Hamburg, Cologne and Dusseldorf declined.

"Safety-oriented investors see good conditions here due to the relatively stable economic and employment situation," Sven Stricker, head of investment at BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH, said in his company's statement.  "Office investments have a good medium-term outlook, assuming the euro crisis doesn't escalate."

Investors are seeking a safe haven as they fear the euro zone's sovereign-debt crisis will worsen, Stricker said.

The German government predicts the country's economy will grow 0.8 percent this year. The German economy is Europe's largest. The economies of the 17 nations that share the euro are together forecasting a contraction of 0.4 percent, according to the European Central Bank