The German government itself has invested 75bn in rejuvenating the city as it is the only western European capital where prices have decreased instead of risen over the last 10 years.

The belief behind the strategy is to buy now while prices are low and as the German economy bounces back so will property values.

"Berlin is a market that offers the investor the ideal combination of security of investment and the potential of some significant capital appreciation, " says Dr Wilfried Leyens, a former Harvard lecturer in marketing strategy, now working for the part Irish-owned firm IPP Global in Berlin.

"You know that in Berlin you can rent your property as over 85% of Berliners rent, you know that the property business is strictly regulated, giving you peace of mind and of course you know that prices are low and that it is the capital of Germany, " says Leyens.

A recent example of the kind of project attracting Irish buyers is Berlin Campus, an off-plan development beside the River Spree in east Berlin.

An area undergoing much re-development, the area is becoming the focus for Berlin's light industries and developments in the area include the new MTV and Universal Music buildings and the new O2 sports arena.

Consisting of six 19th-century buildings and 150 apartments, prices in Berlin Campus start at 107,000.

For further information contact IPP Global: 1800-570-110/ 0034-952 587 572; www. ippglobal. net