Inquiry reveals: City loses ground in the Harburg district

More urban areas were sold than purchased by the city in the Harburg district since 2018.

, and Administrator

2025 December 24 . 7:32 AM

1 min read

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Inquiry reveals: City loses ground in the Harburg district

Hamburg’s Harburg district has sold far more municipal land than it has bought since 2018. The imbalance has drawn criticism from local politicians, including CDU representative André Trepoll. A recent parliamentary question by Sören Schumacher highlighted the trend in urban development projects last year.

Since 2018, the city has acquired 82 plots, covering a total of 390,979 square metres. The smallest purchase was just 4 square metres, while the largest stretched to 45,602 square metres. Most of these plots remain undeveloped.

In the same period, Harburg sold 255 plots, totalling 425,366 square metres. The smallest sold was 25 square metres, and the largest reached 60,742 square metres. Like the purchases, these were mostly undeveloped land. The majority of sales happened in 2018, with 112 plots changing hands that year. By contrast, no municipal land was sold in 2023. The city did, however, buy 25 plots during the same year.

The figures reveal a clear shift in land ownership within Harburg. With no sales in 2023 but continued acquisitions, the district’s approach to municipal land appears to be evolving. The data follows a parliamentary inquiry into urban development, raising questions about future planning decisions.