Lübke Kelber AG is significantly expanding its residential unit privatisation segment and the individual sale of freehold flats. To achieve this, the group's long-standing expertise in residential sales will be combined with the capabilities of a modern real estate platform under the new brand Lübke Kelber Living. The stated aim is to establish Lübke Kelber Living as one of the leading providers for residential unit privatisations on the German market in the coming years.
The field of residential unit privatisation is not new to Lübke Kelber. For decades, both Alt & Kelber and Dr. Lübke were active in the individual sale of residential properties. Jürgen F. Kelber, Supervisory Board member of Lübke Kelber AG, states that residential unit privatisation is a core component of Lübke Kelber's corporate DNA. The company possesses experience from the marketing of more than 60,000 residential units through individual sales. This expertise is now to be combined with modern sales structures, digitised processes, and the current real estate platform.
Strategic orientation and operational management
The ambition is to develop Lübke Kelber Living into a market-leading provider in the field of residential unit privatisation in Germany. To this end, the company is making targeted investments in personnel, digital sales channels, processes, and strategic partnerships. Lübke Kelber Living already supports owners throughout the entire privatisation process. This includes the analysis and preparation of a housing stock, ensuring readiness for sale, developing a marketing strategy, and ultimately the individual sale of the residential units.
Operationally, Marcel Hoecker, Managing Director of Lübke Kelber Living, is responsible for expanding this business segment. He emphasises that the aim is not merely to offer traditional residential sales to portfolio holders, but a fully structured privatisation process. This begins with portfolio analysis to identify suitable residential units and partial portfolios. Subsequently, the appropriate strategy is developed together with the owner, and the entire process up to the sale of the individual residential unit is managed.
- —Institutional and medium-sized portfolio holders
- —Housing companies and funds
- —Family offices
- —Other owners of larger housing portfolios
Significance in the current market environment
The changed interest rate and investment market has increased the importance of individual residential unit sales once again. While in phases of low interest rates, entire housing portfolios were often sold to institutional buyers, institutional investors are now acting more selectively with larger portfolios. At the same time, numerous owners are confronted with the necessity to restructure portfolios, release capital, or react to changed refinancing conditions. Hoecker explains that for larger portfolio holders, residential unit privatisation can represent an additional strategic exit channel. The aim is not to fundamentally replace global sales. Rather, an analysis is conducted to determine which realisation strategy is most economically viable for a portfolio or parts of a portfolio. For suitable housing stocks, individual sales can unlock additional value potential compared to a complete portfolio sale. This approach is already an integral part of Lübke Kelber Living's existing strategy.
Lübke Kelber Living deliberately does not limit itself to the mere marketing of individual residential units. The range of services includes analysing the potential for privatisation, developing sales and pricing strategies, preparing the properties, approaching existing tenants, sales to owner-occupiers and private investors, and comprehensive operational support for individual sales. A crucial advantage arises from its integration into the extensive Lübke Kelber platform, which connects transaction business, investment management, asset management, property management, and residential sales nationwide across five locations.
Mr Kelber emphasises that for larger portfolios, privatisation is much more than simply listing individual residential units on sales platforms. It involves an overarching strategy, the correct sequence of sales, the situation of the tenants, portfolio preparation, financing options, data management, and professionally organised sales. This is precisely where the company applies its decades of experience. A significant focus is also on tenants as a buyer group. Where economically sensible, tenants should be offered a concrete opportunity to acquire their residential unit. Responsible residential unit privatisation combines the interests of owners with the opportunity for private property ownership. Given a homeownership rate in Germany of merely 43.5 percent, according to the Pestel Institute, Mr Kelber sees a societal task in enabling more people to access homeownership. Hoecker adds that existing tenants are approached early and transparently, as they are familiar with their residential unit and its surroundings. Additionally, sales are targeted at owner-occupiers and private investors, with homeownership also serving as a building block for wealth creation and old-age provision.
