Der Metropol - a Real Estate Magazine by Zabel Property, Buyers from the Middle East

NO. 2 04/ 2 0 1 6

A REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE BY zabel Property AG

Middle Eastside Story

Why people from the Middle East buy properties in Berlin Profile: Countries of the Middle East

Attractive investments in Berlin

Live like a Sheikh

Diverse, different – and with a shared interest in Berlin real estate

Kefah Abu Gosh on the particular features of working with buyers from the Middle East

Contemporary luxury, ancient traditions, and a liking for heights are typical

der metropol Open, Cosmopolitan, Colorful: Berlin has been developing into a hot spot for property buyers from all over the world. With its new publication “der metropol,�

Zabel Property offers a print magazine rich in content focused on a key topic of our times: foreign investors in Berlin. Published quarterly in a print run of 10,000 copies, the magazine is offered free of charge.

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Editorial

Dear readers, The number of high-net-worth individuals is growing worldwide. Credit Suisse forecasts that, by 2020, the number of dollar millionaires worldwide will have risen 46 percent to just under 50 million. It is already clear that, alongside the industrialized nations in the west and major developing countries such as China, a number of oil-rich states in the Middle East in particular will be among the winners. It is likely, for example, that by 2020 the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will have over 62 percent more millionaires than it does today.

The wealth of many high-net-worth individuals from countries in the Middle East comes not from streets paved with gold, as the old saying goes, but from black gold beneath them: oil has brought great wealth not just to individuals but also to many states in the region. The oil price has fallen dramatically however in recent months. Because of this and many other global uncertainties, many high-net-worth individuals in the Middle East are increasingly seeking investment opportunities abroad. Top of the list of favored countries for these investors are robust economies such as Germany, which has remained almost untouched by global crises and has seen its reputation as a “safe haven� confirmed once again. This applies all the more to up-and-coming metropolises such as Berlin, which offers high-quality real estate for use both privately and as a stable investment.

Thomas Zabel has been the CEO of Zabel Property AG since 1992. Internationally positioned, his team takes care of affluent foreign clients by meeting their elevated standards in service and quality of living. The company transacts 70 percent of its property sales with foreign clients.

Berlin is an excellent location for investors looking to invest in premium real estate. Prices continue to compare favorably with those in other European cities and have potential for further growth. Moreover, Berlin is well known worldwide as a young, international, and cosmopolitan city.

To help you get to know buyers from the Middle East, their housing preferences, and their requirements, this issue introduces you to a few of the countries in this region.

Happy reading,

Thomas Zabel CEO, Zabel Property AG

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INDEX

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More high-net-worth individuals from the Middle East are investing in Germany. Real estate in Berlin is in particular demand.

What makes Berlin real estate attractive, and what do buyers in the Middle East look for? Interview with Kefah Abu Gosh.

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Rich, but not just from oil

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Interview

In conversation

Live like the Sheikhs

Joud Al-Kateb, Zabel Property customer, on the Berlin way of life and her experience of buying an apartment in the city.

Modern luxury, ancient traditions, and a liking for the vertical, characterizes homes in the Middle East.

INDEX

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Limitless luxury living

A new sparkle for City West

Conspicuous opulence, helipads, marinas, underwater villas – in the UAE luxury knows no limits.

Luxurious, sophisticated and cosmopolitan, the spruced up City West is delighting its residents, visitors, and investors once more.

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Introducing ...

Middle East Etiquette

Client Relations Manager, Liv Baggen, meets almost every request of Zabel Property’s international customers.

In the Arab (business) world, small details can make all the difference. We present some important rules of etiquette.

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The Middle East’s millionaires According to Forbes magazine, 78 dollar billionaires live in the Middle East. Together, they have assets totaling around 209 billion dollars. Unusually, wealth in the Middle East seems to stay within the family: Forbes reports that one third of all billionaires in this region are related to one another.

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Number ('000)

UAE Saudi Arabia Qatar Kuwait

Wealth ($ bn)

Data: New World Wealth

362

72,1

295

59 39

195

38,9

195

COUNTRY SNAPSHOT

The Middle East: rich, but not just from oil Berlin is increasingly on the radar as an investment location for more and more high-net-worth individuals from all over the world. With many of the world’s super-rich living in the Middle East.

When the subject turns to high-networth individuals in the Middle East, many people immediately think of the United Arab Emirates, which comprises Abu Dhabi and Dubai among others. According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, 59,000 dollar millionaires lived in the UAE in 2015 – a significant number in a country with a population of only around 5.5 million. There are billionaires there too: four individuals appearing in Forbes’ famous list of the world’s richest people live in the UAE. Primary materials are economically important for many countries in the Middle East. In the UAE, oil and gas account for around a quarter of GDP. But it is the service sector, financial services in particular, which is central, producing half of the country’s GDP. Strong population growth is expected over the coming years: the population of Dubai alone is forecast to reach around 3 million by the time of the World Expo in 2020.

Dubai: city of the rich Dubai, the UAE’s largest city, is an El Dorado for high-net-worth individuals.

The Wealth Report published by the real estate firm Knight Frank identifies Dubai as the world’s eighth most important city for ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) last year. UHNWIs are individuals with investable

assets of between 30 and 50 million dollars. This position is not expected to change before 2025. In 2014, over 380 UHNWIs lived in Dubai, with 168 living in the capital Abu Dhabi.

2014, it is estimated that the economy grew by just under five percent in 2015. At 0.4 percent, the unemployment rate in Qatar is the second lowest in the world.

Other countries in the region, such as Lebanon, cannot quite match the UAE in terms of concentration of high-net-worth individuals, but the Lebanese capital Beirut nevertheless boasts a respectable tally: according to Knight Frank, 133 UHNWIs lived there in 2014, a similar number to Florence and Birmingham with 137 each. The Forbes List of the world’s richest people includes seven billionaires from Lebanon.

High demand for real estate

Kuwait and Qatar: “little giants”

Boomtown Berlin

Six Kuwaitis appear in the Forbes List.

Though very small in terms of area, Kuwait has over six percent of the world’s oil deposits, and oil accounts for around half of the country’s GDP, 90 percent of government revenue, and 94 percent of export revenue.

Foreign nationals make up 60 percent of the workforce.

Germany is becoming increasingly popular as a safe haven for investment for high-net-worth private investors. Berlin in particular is growing in importance, not just because of the favorable socio-economic conditions prevailing in the city: the population and the economy are growing and the booming start-up scene is attracting large numbers of young people from all over the world. At the same time, the Berlin market offers a wide range of high-quality properties. In comparison with other European cities such as London and Paris, prices are still relatively modest, and still have potential for growth.

Immigration to the wealthy Gulf desert state of Qatar is high. Indeed, with 22.4 migrants per 1000 inhabitants, Qatar has the highest net migration rate in the world. One reason is the country’s booming economy: after GDP growth of around four percent in

Demand by high net worth individuals from all over the world for real estate investments continues unabated.

A great deal of capital is flowing into foreign property markets from the Middle East in particular. Political and – due to falling oil prices – economic uncertainties are increasingly causing high-net-worth individuals to seek investments abroad.

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“Berlin is currently the most popular real estate market in Europe.�

Kefah Abu Gosh is in charge of business development for Zabel Property in the Middle East and North Africa.

With his native Arabic and Hebrew skills and instinctive cultural feel, Abu Gosh looks after customers from the Arab world in particular.

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Interview

Attractive Investments in Berlin The real estate expert Kefah Abu Gosh explains why buyers from the Middle East are increasingly investing in the German capital, and which specific perks of the real estate sale should be considered.

Mr. Abu Gosh, what do wealthy customers from the Middle East find so interesting about Berlin?

Above all, my clients prefer secure, long-term investments in stable markets in safe countries. With the many uncertainties currently prevailing around the world, this is becoming an ever more important motivator. Germany is viewed as an anchor of stability in Europe with an economy that is immune to crises. Many buyers have already invested in other European cities such as London, where prices are now exorbitant. As a result, Berlin is currently Europe’s most popular real estate market.

Many of my clients buy in Berlin because they send their children here to study. Unlike in the UK, there are no university fees in Berlin. This enables buyers to invest in apartments for their children instead and buy into in the booming Berlin market. Above all, they want their children to have a secure future in a safe country with good schools and a modern healthcare system.

You say that many of your clients already invest in London. What advantages does Berlin offer?

Prices in Berlin are of course much lower. In the city’s Mitte district, for example, prices are between 5000 and 5500 euros per square meter,

compared with 13,000 or 14,000 euros in London. After all the hype over there, many people now feel London is overpriced, and returns are falling as a result. In comparison, Berlin is still undervalued and offers lots of potential for growth.

A German investor would perceive an apartment costing € 5,500/m² to be expensive – a few years ago it would have cost just € 3,500/m². But when someone who has previously invested in London hears that he could have a much larger apartment in the center of the capital city of the largest country in Europe, he will of course prefer to buy in Berlin.

Do clients from the Middle East differ from those from other regions? What particular considerations need to be taken into account?

Arab buyers have a very particular mindset when doing business. My own cultural background is very helpful in this regard. Trust plays a very important role in Middle Eastern cultures, for example. So you need to have the right cultural awareness and take plenty of time for the customer.

At Zabel Property we attend to every customer individually and determine their specific requirements. We are also completely open and transparent from the outset. We take them to see lawyers, banks and sometimes tax accountants so that they understand the

complex rules that apply to the purchase and financing of real estate in Germany. That is very important to us.

We want customers to feel well supported in Germany, with its strange language and often overwhelming bureaucracy. This high-quality service pays off: once a trusting relationship is established, customers are very loyal and come back several times more to purchase further properties.

An eye for detail is also important. In Germany, for example, it is polite to shake the hand of a business associate’s wife first, if she is present; an Arab man would be gravely insulted by this. You need to pay very careful attention to a female customer’s body language here: does she want me to shake her hand? Many of these customers come from areas where a woman would never shake hands with a male stranger. A faux pas of that kind can destroy a customer’s trust.

Be honest: do your clients ever make special requests that you are unable to fulfill?

Never. But clients from the Middle East sometimes want to modify the floor plan. For example, many customers want not just one bedroom, but several. They also want a hallway.

They don’t like being able to see the other rooms from the living room. We have an Arabic interior designer to look after these requests.

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Karl Lagerfeld is planning a fashion island in Dubai Situated 20 km off the coast of Dubai the manmade island “La Isla Moda“, will be created. Over 1.2 million square meters, 150 luxury homes, and three five-star hotels are planned in addition to numerous fashion boutiques.

Photo: Rex Features

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Culture

The United Arab Emirates – limitless luxury living Higher, faster, further – the United Arab Emirates is a land of superlatives.

When it comes to luxury, Dubai in particular breaks all records. The famous Burj al Arab, for example, built by Sheikh Mohammed around 20 years ago, is the epitome of conspicuous opulence. Around 1790 square meters of gold leaf and 24,000 square meters of marble – including the stone used by Michelangelo in his sculptures – were used in the construction of this sail-shaped luxury hotel. As well as an opulent ambiance, the hotel also offers its guests every amenity. Visitors arriving by helicopter can use the hotel’s own helipad, situated at an altitude of 200 meters, or have a temporary tattoo in gold or platinum at its spa.

of living space, with Jacuzzi, private sauna and indoor fountain. Residential properties of this kind are not necessarily unusual in the UAE. Dubai’s luxury AKOYA Oxygen development is a case in point. Luxury developer Damac Properties have built a set of very special villas, named Ettore 971 in homage to the automobile marque Bugatti, where residents no longer need to park their supercars in a garage. These high-end properties have seven bedrooms, afford views over an 18-hole golf course by Tiger Woods Design, and comprise a display area enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass to provide a fitting home and showcase for the owners’ car.

Where dreams of luxury come true

A caravan the size of a family home

If you think that extravagance on this scale is reserved for tourists to the UAE, you would be mistaken. This is a place where anyone who has made a fortune can – and does – make their every dream come true. Stucco walls, marble floors and chandeliers are standard issue, as can be seen at the astroturf and palm-planted waterfront villas at Nurai Island off Abu Dhabi.

Inhabitants and guests can travel to the island by boat or helicopter, mooring at the private marina or landing at the private heliport. Indoors, inhabitants have 1645 square meters

Luxury sports cars are particulary popular in the UAE. Hamad bin Hamdan al-Nahyan, the “Rainbow Sheikh” of Abu Dhabi, is famously car crazy. He owns over 400 luxury vehicles, including a collection of American Cadillacs, various American vintage limousines, and seven Mercedes 500 SELs in different rainbow colors – one for every day of the week. The real showpiece of the collection, however, is a large caravan. Larger than some family homes and comprising two stories, eight rooms, eight bathrooms and even four garages, this gargantuan

Conspicuous opulence, helipads, marinas, underwater villas – in the UAE luxury knows no limits. caravan is the largest in the world. It is pulled by a gigantic SUV. Underwater villas to offer comfort in a class of its own An atmosphere of lavish grandeur can also be enjoyed by residents of Isla Moda, one of the artificial islands in the “The World” archipelago and dedicated entirely to fashion. The 80 luxury villas, “or limited edition houses”, were designed by no less a figure than Karl Lagerfeld. Another extravagant development can be found off the coast of Dubai: the first underwater houses will be built here in the coming months. These aquatic luxury properties have a unique design: two stories, containing a terrace, living room and kitchen, will sit above the surface of the water, while the glazed underwater section will contain the bedroom with undersea views. Once completed over the coming year, 157-square-meter underwater homes will be accessible by water taxi.

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Berlin’s Finest Real Estate Zabel Property specializes in premium real estate in Berlin’s best locations. Our “Finest Homes” showroom is located directly on Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin’s most beautiful square. Our team, which comprises speakers of 15 languages, provides full personalized advice on our properties in a friendly atmosphere, and finds the right property for every customer. Whether you are looking for a new home or want to add a touch of Berlin style to your portfolio, come and see us at our Gendarmenmarkt office.

We are looking forward to your visit: Zabel Finest Homes | Markgrafenstraße 37 | 10117 Berlin +49 30 88 66 00-500 | info@zabel.com | www.zabel.com

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Jewel of the west The Kaufhaus des Westens, or KaDeWe, has been a symbol of sought-after luxury since it first opened in 1907. Its exclusive wares put it in the same league as Harrods in London or Galeries Lafayette in Paris. A few hundred meters to the west is the start of Kurf端rstendamm, the main artery of City West, now polished to a sophisticated and cosmopolitan sparkle.

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Portrait of a district

City West

A new sparkle for City West City West – luxurious and tasteful, elegant and turbulent, sophisticated and cosmopolitan. Famously spruced up, this district is again delighting residents, visitors and investors alike.

Also known as the “Golden West”, the City West district is the area around the Zoo and Kurfürstendamm. Not an official city district, and with no clearly defined boundaries, the name City West became established over the centuries for this area of around 635 hectares. The area grew up at the end of the 19th century during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II and became synonymous with the “Golden Twenties”.

A famous and glamorous business and entertainment district, it looked set to sink into insignificance during the 1990s – after the fall of the Berlin wall, the center of West Berlin seemed to have lost its function. All eyes turned east to follow developments in the city’s eastern center. But City West has shed its outdated image and spruced itself up. The “Golden West” is gleaming again – and brighter than before.

For the last few years City West has once again been a priority for city planners and investors. The construction cranes have been stirring things up, particularly in the area around Breitscheidplatz where the world-famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial

Church is located. Along the length of the Ku’damm, as Kurfürstendamm is popularly referred to, in the side streets leading off it and in many other parts of the City West area, refurbishment, restoration and construction work is underway.

City West’s main artery The Kurfürstendamm is a Berlin landmark. Glamorous and sophisticated, with window displays showcasing world-famous luxury brands, there is nothing to remind today’s visitor of the pathway through marshland once ridden by Joachim II, elector (or “Kurfürst”) of Brandenburg from around 1542. Over recent years, Kurfürstendamm has become home to an increasing number of sumptuous boutiques, and many luxury goods retailers have completely relocated there from Friedrichstraße.

There is hardly a visitor to Berlin who doesn’t fit in a spot of window-shopping at Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Louis Vuitton – Ku’damm always was a real magnet for tourists. Even the down-toearth currywurst gets a glamorous

makeover here: Bier’s Kudamm 195, an institution since the 1960s, will gladly serve its many diners, which include plenty of VIPs, champagne with their currywurst.

But for those in the mood to shop will also find much to entice them away from Ku’damm. Alongside the many exclusive boutiques in the numerous side streets, the Kaufhaus des Westens, or KaDeWe, on Tauentzienstraße is a prime destination. A symbol of sought-after luxury from around the world since its opening in 1907, the KaDeWe welcomes around 50,000 customers every day. During the Christmas period, the KaDeWe is transformed into a winter wonderland with fairytale window displays and an enormous Christmas tree in the foyer, delighting around 180,000 visitors from all over the world daily. Here in continental Europe’s largest department store, everything is that little bit bigger: the food hall is a gourmet’s paradise, the 1000-seater oyster bar is the city’s largest restaurant, and customers drink over 220,000 glasses of champagne at the department’s gourmet stands ever year.

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Portrait of a district

A taste of the Orient in Berlin

Restaurants and bars Grosz

This mixture of coffee house, restaurant and bar has been well received. Run by Roland Mary, proprietor of Mitte’s renowned restaurant Borchardt, the VIP diners are as numerous as the menu is delicious.

Kurfürstendamm 193/194, 10707 Berlin

Paris Bar

Opened back in 1950, the Paris Bar is still a celebrity haunt and the daddy of Berlin’s hip restaurant scene. A restaurant where ambiance and diners alike have a certain “je ne sais quoi”.

Kantstraße 152, 10623 Berlin

The Fox Bar

Run in the American hotel bar tradition and a favorite hangout for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the Fox Bar is the place to go in the Ku’damm area to sip champagne and cocktails in style.

Knesebeckstraße 67, 10623 Berlin

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City West’s cafés are the perfect place to recover after a strenuous day. Marooush on Knesebeckstraße is especially popular: this eastern-style establishment is not just for tea lovers. The Marooush restaurant is famous for its excellent eastern food and all its dishes are freshly prepared and halal, or compliant with Islamic dietary rules.

A particular highlight at the weekend are the belly dancers who add an extra touch to the sophisticated eastern ambiance. Diners should reserve several days in advance to secure a table.

Those who want to take a little bit of eastern flair home with them should delve into one of the large carpet shops around Ku’damm. For decades the area has been home to numerous specialist retailers offering a wide range of hand-knotted carpets from the Middle and Far East. Carpets, rugs and wall-hangings, wool or silk – the choice is overwhelming.

Waldorf Astoria definately makes this list and is a real highlight. Located in the 118-meter-tall Zoofenster building at the Zoologischer Garten rail station, the hotel’s New York-style art deco interiors bring the Golden Twenties back to life.

Together with its 118-meter-tall sister tower Upper West, which is scheduled for completion in 2017, Zoofenster will frame the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in one of the most impressive examples of the new zeal for investment in City West area. Upper West too will have a hotel as one of its principal tenants, in this case the affordable hotel chain Motel One, which will provide new accommodation options in West Berlin for visitors of more modest means. The renovation work that is underway everywhere in the area will also see Zoo station shedding its down-at-heel image and being modernized to match the new sparkle of the City West area.

Refurbishment not demolition

The Waldorf Astoria in Berlin Well-to-do visitors to Berlin have traditionally had numerous luxury hotels to choose from. And Germany’s first

One distinctive feature of the work in the City West area is the desire to preserve and refurbish the existing environment. The Zoo Palast

Portrait of a district

Left: cinema at the Zoo Palast, photo: Zoo Palast; Top: City-West with Bikini House and Gedächtniskirche, photo: Franz Brück

movie theater, for decades West Berlin’s most important film premiere venue, has been extensively expanded and restored and now sparkles once more as an important venue for the city’s international film festival, the Berlinale.

After lengthy modernization work, the Bikini-Haus building, a protected monument, has a new lease of life as a very special shopping mall.

There are no large chains here – just lots of shops found nowhere or almost nowhere else in Germany and numerous pop-up boxes which can be used for special presentations. The Bikini-Haus owes its name to a formerly breezy open mezzanine floor which reminded onlookers of a two-piece swimming costume.

Today the only breezy part of the Bikini-Haus is the roof terrace with its views of the Berlin Zoo, Germany’s oldest and with one of the largest collections of species worldwide. Opened in 1844 and covering 35 hectares, the Berlin Zoo draws one million visitors annually and has been home to many animal celebrities.

A particularly good view into the monkey enclosure can be enjoyed from the Monkey Bar. Located on the tenth floor of the high rise hotel building, also part of the Bikini Berlin complex, the bar affords an excellent view of the Berlin skyline and the aforementioned monkey enclosure. The Monkey Bar has quickly established itself as a City West hotspot – which makes for long waiting lines at the hotel entrance.

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Portrait of a district

Elegance, flair and lots of culture The charm of the Wilhelminian era is still in the air at the Theater des Westens. Built at the end of the 19th century, it is still one of Germany’s most prestigious and beautiful theaters.

Interiors characterized by imposing chandeliers, heavy velvet and polished marble hark back to an earlier – and as it may seem, at least in the moment, more beautiful – age. For over a century, top-flight artistes such as Enrico Caruso, Josephine Baker and Marlene Dietrich have reinforced the reputation of the Theaters des Westens as the “theater of world stars”. Great productions such as Les Misérables, Falco meets Amadeus,

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Chicago, La Cage aux Folles and West Side Story have graced the elegant auditorium.

For many years, the Theater des Westens also served as a substitute venue for the West Berlin Opera House, which was destroyed during World War II. The new opera house, built in the same location as its predecessor on Bismarckstraße in Charlottenburg, opened in 1961 with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It is the largest of the capital’s three opera houses and one of the largest theaters in Germany. Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi – the opera orchestra is famous for its epoch-making work.

Portrait of a district

Left: Modern loft apartment in Berlin-Charlottenburg; Top: Charming apartming in Berlin-Wilmersdorf From the historical to the modern The City West area offers everything a person needs to have fun: there is shopping, culture, entertainment and plenty of flair thanks to the area’s historic architecture, world-famous sights and modern highlights. One of these modern highlights is Westside Loft, an old office building being transformed into a unique living environment. Thanks to the skeleton structure of the building, the lofts and penthouses as Westside Lofts can be adjusted to suit almost any space requirement and provide flexible floor plans to make almost any dream a reality. Individualists can find the home of their dreams at Westside Loft from mid-2017, when these unique premium properties are scheduled for completion. It is not just the exclusive apartments it will contain that makes Westside Loft such a good fit for City West: here too the developers are not simply demolishing the old to make

way for the new. Instead, the existing property is being lovingly converted and given a new lease on life.

A less modern but equally superb residence can be found on Pariser StraĂ&#x;e, where an imposing GrĂźnderzeit-era corner building has been extensively renovated with great attention to detail. The building now houses luxurious apartments with stucco ceilings accurately restored in every detail, high-quality parquet flooring, the large windows typical of period buildings, refurbished ornamentation and fittings and classic sliding doors evoking the grandeur of a bygone age.

As different in style as these two properties are, one things unite them: Both are perfect for City West. Here, existing properties have not simply been demolished to make way for the new: they have been lovingly converted and given a new lease on life. This contrast of styles satisfies every buyers wish.

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“Berlin connects people like no other city in Europe.�

Joud Al-Kateb, a 27-year-old pharmacist, is from Saudi Arabia. She moved to Berlin with her husband in 2015. She found her apartment in the capital at the High Park development, which she purchased through Zabel Property AG.

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In conversation

Lunch with Joud Al-Kateb Over a Middle Eastern snack, Berliner-by-choice Joud Al-Kateb tells us why she came to the city and why she chose to buy her apartment through Zabel Property.

Zabel: Joud Al-Kateb, you were born in Saudi Arabia and recently moved to Berlin. Why did you choose the city?

Joud Al-Kateb: Even as a child I was curious about the world and especially about Europe. My parents are originally from Aleppo in Syria. They moved to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, for work. I was born and grew up there. After studying pharmacy at university, I wanted to do my master’s in Switzerland and got a place at a university in Geneva. My parents have a few friends in Berlin and I visited them a number of times during my studies.

It was during these visits that I fell in love with the city. It’s very different from Riyadh here – a completely different world.

Zabel: What for you are the biggest differences between your native city and Berlin?

Life in Riyadh is all about luxury. And many people there live very conservatively. Before I came to Berlin, or Germany at all, I had heard that the Germans were supposed to be very severe and conventional. And that’s how I thought Berlin would be. So the cosmopolitan outlook and helpfulness of the people came as a great surprise to me. In Berlin, creative neighborhoods meet prosperous areas and on the whole the people are more open and of course more international. The German capital connects people like no other city in Europe.

Zabel: Buyers from the Middle East are investing in Berlin real estate more and more often. Why is the city so attractive to people from your region?

Joud Al-Kateb: Berlin is becoming more popular worldwide. On television and in online media people hear about Berlin Fashion Week, the city’s many museums and its historic buildings. This makes lots of people curious about Berlin. And compared with other cities, Berlin’s restaurants, cultural events and apartments are still affordable.

Zabel: You come from a country where food is important. Where in Berlin can you find delicacies from back home?

Joud Al-Kateb: My favorite place in Berlin-Mitte is Qadmous. It offers an authentic menu, good quality, and attentive service. In Charlottenburg, I like to eat with friends in Marooush.

There is Middle Eastern dancing to live music every Friday and Saturday evening. But despite all the Saudi delicacies available in Berlin, I like the Syrian dishes my mother makes best of all.

Zabel: You bought an apartment in High Park at Potsdamer Platz via Zabel Property. How did you hear about us?

Joud Al-Kateb: The apartment in High Park was a wedding present from my parents. My mother searched the Internet for a real estate specialist in

Berlin and came across Zabel Property. After making the initial contact, she received a phone call from Kefah Abu Gosh. Mr. Abu Gosh invited her to a meeting at which she detailed the sort of property she was looking for: something central that would be a good investment. A short time later, Mr. Abu Gosh got back to her with a suitable apartment in the High Park project.

We got straight to work and met with Mr. Abu Gosh and finance and legal experts from Zabel Property’s network to sign the contract.

“Germany is also known as a rich, democratic country – a place many people want to be.“ Zabel: Give us some advice: What do real estate buyers from the Middle East look for in particular?

Joud Al-Kateb: A fair deal! An apartment has to be luxurious and centrally located and have enough room for a car and family. In Riyadh there are almost no apartments smaller than 200 square meters. The neighborhood is also important. In the Middle East it’s normal to invite the neighbors over to share food and chat about the latest events. An apartment also needs to have air conditioning – in Saudi Arabia no one lives without it.

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Culture

Live like a sheikh Cultural tranditions and extravagant preferences determine the style of living for the people in the Middle East.

The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and the Burj Al Arab, one of world’s most luxurious hotels, are Dubai’s showpieces. The sumptuous lifestyle of the Arab elite is often associated with these landmarks of the desert state. This is exactly how a sheikh would furnish his home, you imagine: large and magnificent rooms, lots of glass, lots of gold and lots and lots of luxury. In the cities of the Arab world, people are positively obsessed with the newest, the biggest and the best. To understand how and why people in the Middle East style their homes in the way that they do requires an appreciation of the customs and tastes that prevail there.

Desert cities: oases of civilization Many Arab societies are of Bedouin origin. As recently as the early 1960s – before the discovery of oil on the Arabian Peninsula – over half of the population still lived as nomads.

As a result, a fundamental principle of modern Arab interior design is to create as much freedom as possible, of the kind that can otherwise only be found in the expanse of the desert.

And it is the desert that the descendants of the Bedouins, according to an old Arabic belief, have to thank for their finest virtues: a sense of

togetherness, generosity, pride and hospitality. Accordingly, interior design is dominated by spaciousness and open views. The high demand for living space in the cities is met by the construction of skyscrapers.

Here, another preference that strongly influences living environments in Dubai comes in to play: people love to live at altitude. From the wind-cooled skyscrapers of Dubai, to the ancient Saudi watchtowers and the famous tower tombs of Oman, Arab architecture seems to have always favored the vertical. So the popularity of glass facades is not surprising. They give breathtaking panoramic views and create an exclusive atmosphere, as well as letting in plenty of natural light and creating additional depth. Simple colors and strong contrasts also open up rooms and expose views of the entire home.

Between splendor and tradition No less important is the love of Arab high-net-worth-individuals for beauty and elegance. Here too a desire to preserve their own heritage and the ever-present desert landscape play a key role. The result is frequently a unique blend of modern luxury with cultural tradition. Prestigious furniture is often combined with traditional

objects such as a richly ornamented mirror or an antique sculpture. Touches of color underscore the eye-catching effect. All of the colors that dominate interior design, including navy blue, sunshine yellow and green, are taken from the desert landscape or from religious traditions. Pure black and white are often also used as contrast colors. An abundance of gold and silver decoration and accessories in these materials are also very popular in the Arab world.

It is not just the choice of materials that is important, however. Many Middle Eastern cultures have a great appreciation for Arabic calligraphy, and this too is reflected in interior decor.

Ornate lettering of religious or literary significance can often be seen on walls. Furniture is preferably made from natural materials, and this will stand in contrast to individual items of furniture in glass in metal. Floors are often left entirely uncovered, or covered all over with traditional wool carpets. Bathrooms are of spa quality and often feature a large whirlpool tub. The interior of high-priced apartments is a reflection of wider society.

The Arab style is characterized by a cosmopolitan blend of indigenous traditions and home decor customs from many other cultures.

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Premium real estate with a premium service Premium properties have been our passion for 25 years. We see ourselves as a “business class” real estate agent: we sell premium properties and offer a premium service. Whether they are investors or private buyers, our wide range of services are crucial for our customers when they decide to buy a property.

360° service – taking care of everything

Concierge & facility services – making daily life easier

We don’t just advise our customers: we take care of everything for them from planning their initial journey to Berlin, to offering our chauffeur service, and even providing sightseeing tours. Together with experienced professionals, our team answers specific questions about the purchase process and German bureaucracy in 15 languages.

We make sure our customers can concentrate on the important things in life. Making restaurant reservations, taking garments to the dry cleaners, filling the refrigerator, carrying out maintenance work – we look after the many little things so our customers don’t have to – providing them a crucial value.

Interior design service – creating a home

Letting service – optimizing investments

Once our customers have bought their property, we do everything necessary to ensure that they are smoothly transitioned into their home: We register them for electricity, water, telephone, and internet providers, and work with renowned architectural firms to fit them out with top-quality furnishings so they may feel at home.

Whether you live in Berlin or not, letting an apartment profitably, also means plenty of expenses. We market properties professionally to ensure a high return on investment, regulate rental payments, and we relieve investors by offering the professional administration of the property.

Serviced living concept – creating alternatives

Property Management – facilitate investment decisions

Optimum added value, with as little organizational effort as possible for owners, and a comfortable alternative to a hotel for tenants – that’s our serviced living concept. We furnish apartments to a high standard, arrange short-term leases, and market properties professionally; thus creating additional purchase incentives.

We are the first point of contact not only for owners but also for their tenants. We take care of the ongoing maintenance of the apartment and work closely with the owner’s lawyers, banks, and tax consultancies. We talk to them in a language they understand, thus supporting them with their investment.

Contact us: +49 30 88 66 000 | www.zabel.com Follow us:

Zabel Property AG | Unter den Linden 14 | 10117 Berlin | info@zabel.com

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Employee portrait

Introducing ...

At Zabel Property, professional service is our trademark. Our experienced Client Relations staff look after our international customers and fulfill (virtually) their every request. Two diverse days with Liv Baggen.

Day 1

Day 2

9:00 am: Liv Baggen reviews new inquiries about apartments that Zabel Property lets on behalf of their owners and sets up viewings for potential tenants.

10:00 am: A buyer from abroad moved into his new apartment in Berlin a few days ago. Liv Baggen takes the art-loving buyer on a special city tour to Berlin’s most interesting galleries and museums.

10:00 am: The Client Relations staff check that repair and maintenance work booked for the apartments has been completed quickly and cleanly. Zabel Property insists on the highest standards for the properties it manages so that buyers’ investments remain in excellent condition at all times.

11:00 am: An integral part of our service is furnishing apartments to suit particular target groups. Liv Baggen meets the interior designer who has just finished setting up a new apartment and draws up a list of all furnishings. She makes sure that every detail has been considered – even down to the teaspoons. After the subsequent quality check, the apartment is ready for its first tenant.

2:00 pm: Liv Baggen meets Property Consultant Kefah Abu and a potential customer from Lebanon for lunch at Qadmous. Over Lebanese specialties, she tells the customer about Zabel Property’s extensive program of services designed to help investors achieve added value when letting and managing their property.

5:00 pm: Back at the office, she telephones with the lawyer of a potential foreign buyer to discuss the particularities of buying real estate in Germany and recommends an experienced German accountant to him.

12:00 pm: If there isn’t a Property Consultant in town, the Client Relations Team is always ready to lend an ear to current and prospective buyers. The team tells a prospective buyer about Berlin’s strengths as an investment location and organizes a professional photo session for an investor who is letting out his apartment.

1:00 pm: Liv Baggen accompanies an embassy representative on viewings of various furnished apartments in Berlin’s Tiergarten and Mitte districts. As embassy staff only tend to stay in one city for a short time, high-quality furnished apartments with a comprehensive range of services are particularly attractive for them.

3:00 pm: Liv Baggen accompanies the driver to the airport to collect an investor who wants to use his apartment himself for a few months. Over a coffee she briefs him on developments in the building and accompanies him to the apartment, where fresh flowers and a full refrigerator await.

6:00 pm: Liv Baggen attends an annual condominium owners’ meeting as proxy for an investor and votes on the resolutions as instructed. Tomorrow she will update the investor on events at the meeting and later send him a translation of the minutes.

Liv Baggen is Client Relations Manager with Zabel Property. Born in the Netherlands, she worked in the Middle East for four years. She worked as an art consultant for the Aïshti Foundation in Beirut, Lebanon, which specializes in contemporary art from the Middle East, for almost three years.

She also worked as Client Relations Manager at the Palazzo Versace Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, a property project by the Versace fashion label, and knows the requirements of customers from the Middle East from personal experience.

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Culture

Middle East Etiquette Other countries, other customs: when visiting friends or customers abroad, it is often the little things that make the difference between success and failure. So to help you avoid slip-ups, we present some of the most important rules of etiquette to remember when visiting the Arab world for business or otherwise.

Forms of address

Hospitality

Don’t forget your business card: To address another person correctly, rank, social status, and professional position must all be taken into account. In the Arabic world, addressing a person by their forename is a formal greeting rather than a sign of informality. Smiles and eye contact are appreciated. To avoid uncertainties regarding the correct form of address, it is a good idea to exchange business cards. This will contain all the important information. Business cards are always proffered and accepted with the right hand. Writing notes on a business card is considered to be bad manners.

The third invitation counts: Initially, invitations will mostly be of a professional nature. An invitation to a private event is the highest possible honor, and must never be declined.

Even so, it is polite to symbolically decline invitations at least twice to begin with. Only the third invitation is understood to be seriously meant. As a gift to a host, regional specialties from your country are a good idea, and handcrafts are also appreciated. Do not bring gifts of alcohol, unless you are sure your guest drinks. Generally, it is also advisable to give small gifts to the hosts’ children.

Dress code

Respect and hierarchy

The right clothes: Overally casual dress is viewed as denoting a lack of affluence and education. For business appointments, men are expected to wear a suit and tie.

Women need only be veiled when meeting Arab business partners if this is explicitly requested. The clothing should be conservatively cut to not cause any offenses. They should choose simple, loose fitting clothing in subdued colors. It is important that outfits are neat, of good quality, and fastened up. This applies to men and women equally.

Jewelry, for example chains and bangles, is frowned upon for both sexes.

Communicate sensitively: A respectful manner is considered to be one of the important attributes in Arab societies.

Respect should be paid by the young to their elders and subordinates to those of higher rank, but also by guests to their host. Respect is shown to women by treating them with reserve. An upright posture shows that you take the other person seriously. Under no circumstances should you interrupt a business partner during conversation. To contradict them will be taken as an insult. Discussions during business meetings will be between those of the same hierarchical level only.

Legal Notice Zabel Property AG Unter den Linden 14, 10117 Berlin phone: +49 30 88 66 00-0, fax: +49 30 88 66 00-199 Trade registration at local court Charlottenburg HRB 169834 B | VAT: DE 235138710 CEO: Thomas Zabel email: info@zabel.com, internet: www.zabel.com

The editor assumes no liability for unsolicited documents. Any commercial use of this periodical, which is protected by applicable copyrights, or any of its contents and illustrations, specifically through reproduction or dissemination, is unlawful and actionable except with the publisher’s prior written consent or unless regulated otherwise by the German Copyright Act.

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THE WORLD IS INVESTING IN BERLIN Zabel Property’s percent of global buyers

USA

3 %

Russia Europe

4 %

52 %

China Middle E ast

31 %

8 %

New Zeal and

2 %

Zabel Property AG Unter den Linden 14 | 10117 Berlin phone: +49 (0)30 88 66 00-0 | fax: +49 30 88 66 00-199 info@zabel.com | www.zabel.com