_All eyes on Frankfurt: Europe's new buy-to-let investment hotspot

Board a flight to this German city and you're almost always guaranteed to see rows of corporate types typing away on their laptops and finishing their phone calls before take-off.

My destination is Frankfurt - Germany's financial beating heart; the European Central Bank is headquartered in the city and since the Brexit announcement, many other financial institutions are expanding their operations including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered.

My trip, however, was to delve deeper into the Frankfurt luxury residential market and find out exactly why the city has seen a staggering 12.9% annual increase in house prices between December 2016 and December 2017. 

One of the biggest surprises for me was to learn that Frankfurt's population stands at only 732,700, rising by approximately 15,000 a year. 

More surprisingly, over 1.3 million people commute to the city each day because of low housing stock - there's simply not enough residential living space in the city.

And once you secure a place to live in the city you stay put, with tenants in Frankfurt, on average, renting a property for 12 years compared with the UK's two! 

Artist's impression of Four Frankfurt by Groß & Partner 

Numerous developers have tapped into the huge appetite for new housing and have started buying old or unsightly buildings in order to build residential towers and prestige developments to service the unyielding demand for inner city living. 

Standing at the top of the department store Galeria Kaufhof and looking out across the city, this huge redevelopment of downtown Frankfurt is shored up by large number of cranes that fleck the horizon. 

Knight Frank Ziegert are working closely with the developer Groß & Partner who are redefining the city's skyline by creating four new skyscrapers, simply named 'Four', that will link the banking district, Bankenviertel, and the main shopping area of the city- Ziel. 

At this stage of planning, only one tower will have residential condominiums available for purchase while the other three will be a mix of offices, serviced apartments and residential lettings. 

Construction has already begun and we estimate completion to be in 2023. 

Unfortunately, the residential units cannot be reserved until later this year but interest from prospective buyers is being registered now and further information is available upon request. 

Well connected, growing in strategic importance, at the start of a property boom and hailed as the next 'buy-to-let' investment hotspot by property experts, Frankfurt offers exciting appeal. 

If you are looking for investment opportunities in Frankfurt or would like more information on the landmark new development ‘Four’, please don’t hesitate to contact me.