Jonas Weidemann

Real Estate Correspondent, The Continental Times

Jonas covers real estate for The Continental Times and has reported from more than a dozen countries.

Frankfurt Has 1.4 Million Square Meters of Empty Offices. A Few Are Becoming Apartments.

With office vacancy at a 20-year high and a housing shortage of 90,000 units, Germany’s financial capital has loosened its rules on conversions. The economics work for some buildings and not others, and the difference is in the floor plates.

Oct. 11, 2026 7 MIN READ

Office towers in Frankfurt’s banking district. The city’s office vacancy rate reached 11.8 percent this year.

They Left Madrid for the Sea With 320,000 Euros and a List. Valencia Had Other Ideas.

A translator and a software engineer wanted three bedrooms, a terrace and a walk to the beach in Spain’s third city. They learned quickly which two of those they could afford.

Oct. 9, 2026 6 MIN READ

Ireland Paid 70,000 Euros to Bring an Empty House Back. In Sligo, 600 Owners Said Yes.

A national grant for restoring derelict homes has drawn 14,000 applications, and nowhere more, per capita, than the northwest. The results are visible on the main streets, and in the arguments about who gets to live on them.

Oct. 6, 2026 6 MIN READ

Painted houses on a street in an Irish town. A national grant has funded the restoration of thousands of vacant homes since 2022.