_Economy and Finance

10:47 am ET Oct 21, 2013 Global Germany’s Central Bank Warns of Local Housing Bubbles Germany’s central bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, sounded an alarm Monday, warning that urban real estate in the country could in some cases be significantly overvalued, against a backdrop of low interest rates. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/10/21/germanys-central-bank-warns-of-local-housing-bubbles/

Frankfurt am Main | 2013-10-21 Possible overvaluation of residential property in German cities Housing prices in German cities have been rising so strongly since 2010 that a possible overvaluation cannot be ruled out. This is the finding of an article contained in the Bundesbank’s most recent Monthly Report. According to this article, there are no signs of substantial exaggerations in the housing market as a whole. Nevertheless, price rises have been observed in urban centres, in particular, which “are difficult to justify based on fundamental factors”, the Bundesbank says. http://www.bundesbank.de/Redaktion/EN/Topics/2013/2013_10_21_possible_overvaluation_of_residential_property_in_german_cities.html

German Home Boom as Europe Stagnates Set to Hurt Merkel By Dalia Fahmy May 28, 2013 Taxi driver Michael Ruedor lived for 20 years in a downtown Berlin apartment close to Checkpoint Charlie before rising rents forced him out. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-27/german-housing-boom-as-europe-stagnates-may-hurt-merkel-at-poll.html