In 1993, Kirsten and Björn Dahler founded their own real estate company south of Hamburg in the Nordheide region. Under the name "Country Immobilien", they initially specialized in the brokerage of country estates and manor houses. Today, their company "DAHLER" specializes in the brokerage of high-quality residential properties in popular locations and thus focuses on a clearly defined market segment.

In total, they employ over 450 people. In addition to brokering premium properties, the group is active in project development and marketing as well as real estate management and investment.

They are represented with over 80 locations in more than 60 cities and regions in Germany, Spain and Austria. Many more locations in Germany and other European countries are in the pipeline.

Mr. and Mrs. Dahler, your career is impressive. You have been managing DAHLER for over 30 years and continue to set new standards in the real estate industry. What inspired you to do what you do today?

Kirsten Dahler : I originally ended up in the real estate industry through a business contact of my father, where I also completed my training. I actually wanted to become a primary school teacher back then, which I still think is a great profession that would have suited me well. However, my parents advised me not to take a job as a teacher.

Björn Dahler: At the time, I realized that there was a significant professionalism and quality deficit in the real estate industry. I had the feeling that you could still be a pike in a carp pond here. In terms of professionalization, our industry was nowhere near as developed as many other service industries. As I had dreamed of a career as an entrepreneur since I was a child, I had the idea of starting my own business in the real estate sector.

Have there been any learnings in your life that have had a particular impact on you?

Björn Dahler: It's actually similar in an entrepreneurial career to life in general: sooner or later you learn that you should never stand still. You should never rest on your laurels. Even if things are going well, you can't assume that they will always stay that way; you also have to prepare yourself for worse times. Over the years, we have also experienced the bursting of the dotcom bubble, the financial crisis and corona, but in the end we emerged stronger because we never gave up.

How do you assess the current situation on the real estate market?

Björn Dahler: We are on the way to a new normality and a new balance between supply and demand. After an exceptionally rapid upward trend, the shock came with the start of the war in Ukraine and the sharp rise in interest rates. This led to a fall in demand. However, I expect that we will now see an upward trend again in terms of transaction figures and a calming of the price front. In other words, we believe that the major setback in terms of real estate prices is over.

When did you start dealing with the topic of finance?

Kirsten Dahler: Actually too late. When I was young, I took out a building society savings contract on the advice of my parents. This is no longer so common today, but this building society savings contract enabled us to buy the kitchen for our first office. We also bought our own property very early on. However, due to the continuous development and growth of our company, we never really had the time to deal intensively with other investment issues. That was something we did on the side at the beginning of our career.

What financial advice would you give your younger self?

Björn Dahler: I would definitely advise my younger self to get involved with financial and investment topics at an earlier age. I did it far too late myself and am not as well versed in the subject as my children. I would have liked to have been much more competent in dealing with financial issues much earlier. I would generally be happy if more young people had the chance to get some basic knowledge to develop a feel for these topics.

How do you define success?

Björn Dahler: I was once given the advice: "The truly successful person never focuses on money first". And in my opinion, there is a lot of wisdom and truth in that. Many people define success in terms of money, but success can't always be measured in money alone. To become successful, you should follow your passion and if you do your job really well, then the money will eventually come by itself.

Which technological innovations do you see as promising?

Björn Dahler : Trends such as artificial intelligence in particular play a major role in our industry and in our company - both in terms of analysis and sales. I believe there is enormous potential there. It used to be difficult to attractively market a property that you wanted to sell and was vacant. Nowadays, you can make a property appear in a new light in just a few minutes and thus stimulate the imagination of our potential buyers. Nevertheless, I am convinced that people will always play the decisive role in the final purchase of a property. This is where emotionality, empathy and trust are needed.

What do you want for the future?

Kirsten Dahler: For us personally, I hope that everything stays the way it is for a long time. For our society, in this increasingly polarized world, I hope that it develops in a better direction again. People should approach each other more, listen to each other better, develop more empathy and treat each other more peacefully.

Thank you very much for the interview.