The current processing times for the registration of priority notices of conveyance in the land registers are significantly impacting the handling of real estate transactions. Practical experience from Alfred Vollmer Immobilien in Wuppertal indicates that parties sometimes have to wait up to five months for a priority notice of conveyance to be registered. This development is viewed critically by industry experts, as it not only directly affects buyers and sellers but also has far-reaching economic consequences.
Dario Dzamastagic, Managing Director of Alfred Vollmer Immobilien and a board member of the German Real Estate Association (IVD), emphasises the seriousness of these delays. A real estate transaction today is linked to numerous other decisions, including purchase price payments, financing, investments in refurbishment or conversion, and craft contracts. People's life plans are also directly affected. Dzamastagic highlights that the priority notice of conveyance is an indispensable central security instrument in real estate purchases, as it protects the buyer's claim to the subsequent transfer of ownership. He therefore advocates not for reducing security, but for significantly accelerating processes.
Economic effects of processing deadlines
The economic implications of long processing times are often underestimated. Sellers and developers receive their sales proceeds later, meaning capital remains tied up for longer, and planned investments are delayed or do not materialise at all. Craft businesses receive their orders correspondingly later. Beyond those immediately involved, this also affects buyers, sellers, owners, tenants, and families who must adjust their further plans. These delays can lead to increased default risks and a rise in legal disputes in an already challenging economic environment.
Dzamastagic stresses that a real estate transaction should never be viewed in isolation. If capital remains tied up due to these delays, orders, further investments, and associated human plans often also wait. A months-long 'state of limbo' ultimately produces no winners. The goal is to drastically shorten processing times – ideally from currently up to five months to approximately five weeks. This would allow liquidity to be mobilised more quickly and investments and contract awards to be initiated promptly.
Demand for greater speed with unchanged security
The Managing Director advocates for immediately exploring possibilities to accelerate procedures, without prematurely assigning responsibility. The focus is on how necessary processes can be made more efficient. He sees a significant reduction in processing times as a direct contribution to accelerating real estate transactions. This would not only increase liquidity but also noticeably boost investments and contract awards in the regional economy. Such a development would act as a 'real turbo' for the real estate sector and overall economic activity in the region.
