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Geschäftsbericht 2013, englisch

Management report 17 The housing market continued to be marked by regional differ- ences. Prices stagnated or declined outside of the prosperous regions as residents moved away. Vacancy rates of up to 10 per- cent were observed in some of these localities. The overall favourable stimuli influencing the German housing market were reflected in renewed rising demand for property financing and a growing volume of loans. The fact that the lend- ing growth in the overall market still remained moderate is pri- marily due to the situation in Germany where a majority of the new lending business is generated each year by prolongations and rescheduling of existing loans. This is why demand related to purchases of newly built and previously owned homes only had a limited effect on the overall new property financing busi- ness. The unchanged historically low level of interest rates fuelled de- mand for condominiums and houses and thus for property fi- nance. The trend to lock-in longer terms of fixed interest rates of 20 years and more continued in 2013. In addition to the de- sire to obtain interest rate safety, many property buyers placed great importance on flexible financing solutions. Competition among providers of property financing intensified as new competitors, especially insurance companies, entered the market, and also because numerous providers tried to win mar- ket share through low financing conditions. The Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken Cooperative Financial Network was able to affirm its position in this difficult environment as it maintains particularly close relationships with its customers and enjoys an image as a quality provider of financing services. Based on figures provided by the National Association of German Cooper- ative Banks (BVR), they were able to expand their share of market to 27.2 percent. Residential property – international The situation in many housing markets in the eurozone remained tense as the recession continued. However, there were increas- ing signs pointing towards a turnaround and a slow start of a recovery. Attractive financing conditions in the UK along with an overall improved income situation helped revive demand for residential property. House prices rose again as supply was limited by the low volume of newly built housing. For the first time since 2008 more than 1 million houses were sold. In addition, institutional investors showed greater interest in the British housing market as residential property is viewed as a safe form of investment. Development seen in the French residential property market was more subdued and varied from region to region. Prices for newly built homes began to stabilise at a low level. Prices for previously owned homes continued to fall but at a slower pace. Investors continued to view investments in rental properties as safe and attractive. Top yields of 3.3 to 3.8 percent were observed most recently and thus significantly below the peak returns of other property classes. Source: German Federal Statistics Office, www.destatis.de, 2013 = estimated Figures in 000 Residential Building Permits in Germany 2001 – 2013 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 0 100 200 300 400 291 274 297 269 240 248 182 175 178 188 228 241 265

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