Is it worth splitting an apartment building into condominiums?
So much for the short answer. The longer one is more interesting, because in Dresden a factor comes into play that most owners do not have on their radar: the conversion ban under §250 BauGB, which does not yet apply here.
The mechanics: block value versus sum of apartments
Block value (whole building)
The house as a whole is valued via the income value (Ertragswert): annual net cold rent times the purchase-price factor, in Dresden roughly 18 to 25 depending on location.
Sum of apartments (split)
Individual condominiums are sold via per-square-metre prices — which per unit are almost always higher than the proportional share of the block value.
The difference is the splitting gain. An example from practice: an apartment building traded as a block for 1.8 million euros can, once split and sold individually, fetch 2.1 to 2.2 million euros. Not because anything has changed about the house — but because the buyer group changes, from the yield-oriented investor to the owner-occupier, who pays more for their own apartment.
When splitting pays off — and when it doesn't
Not every building is suitable. Here the substance counts, not the wish. Splitting pays off when:
Divisible floor plans
The apartments can be cleanly separated into self-contained units.
Separate accesses and meters
Each apartment has its own access and its own meters — or can be given them.
Real owner-occupier demand
In Neustadt, Striesen or Blasewitz this works far better than in pure investor locations on the city outskirts.
It rarely pays off when the house is fully let with old, cheap contracts and no foreseeable turnover. Then the owner-occupier does not buy — after all, they cannot move in. The splitting premium shrinks, and the effort remains.
What splitting costs and how it works
The path runs through the declaration of division (Teilungserklärung)
You need a certificate of self-containment (Abgeschlossenheitsbescheinigung) from the building authority, a partition plan, the notarised declaration of division and the creation of separate apartment land register sheets (Wohnungsgrundbücher).
The costs for this range, depending on size and complexity, from the mid four-figure to the low five-figure range. If building works are first needed for self-containment — separate accesses, fire protection, individual meters — that comes on top. You weigh this sum against the expected additional proceeds. With a 300,000-euro splitting gain, a few thousand euros in splitting costs are well invested. With a 40,000-euro expected premium, the calculation looks different.
The special factor: §250 BauGB and why Dresden is a window of opportunity
Since 2021, §250 BauGB has allowed municipalities to make the splitting of multi-family houses in tight housing markets subject to approval or to prohibit it. The legal basis is the Building Land Mobilisation Act (Baulandmobilisierungsgesetz).
| City | Status |
|---|---|
| Berlin | conversion ban since 2021 |
| Munich | conversion ban since 2021 |
| Hamburg | conversion ban since 2021 |
| Frankfurt a. M. | since 2022, selected quarters |
| Stuttgart | since 2022, central areas |
| Dresden | not introduced (as of 2026) |
In the large West German markets, splitting is thus effectively blocked or heavily impeded. In Dresden it is not. Anyone who splits here today creates the precondition for a later individual sale and secures this option permanently.
The point is the asymmetry
Should Dresden at some point decide on a conversion ban, already-split houses would not be affected, thanks to grandfathering (Bestandsschutz). At the same time, the supply of newly split apartments would dry up — which makes existing split stock more valuable.
The risk is limited, the opportunity remains. No reason to panic, but a reason not to postpone the decision forever.
Splitting does not necessarily mean selling individually
A widespread misconception: that anyone who splits must then laboriously sell apartment by apartment. Not true. You can also sell a split house in full to a single buyer — and still capture a large part of the splitting premium, because the buyer also acquires the ready-made option for a later individual sale. Individual sales generally yield the highest total proceeds, but take longer and tie up capital.
Split or sell as a block — how to decide
Split, then sell
When there is owner-occupier demand in the district, the floor plans cooperate and you have time — as a package or individually.
Sell as a block
When the house is a pure investment property in an investor location, fully let and without turnover — to a capital investor or investor.
In any case, a clean dual valuation pays off before the decision: block value on one side, realistic sum of apartments after splitting on the other. Only this difference — minus the splitting costs — shows whether the effort is worthwhile.
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