Former professional poker player Marco Mattes is now a real-estate entrepreneur who focuses on less sought after markets , Class C and D locations in Germany. His strategy: benefit from low purchase prices while securing solid rental income. „The minimum wage and collective-bargaining pay scales are the same across Germany, but purchase prices don’t reflect that“, Mattes notes. Through his Mattes Group, he invests in economically sound, growing towns that remain under the radar.

„It’s important the city isn’t dependent on just one employer“, he says. Many of these locations are near larger urban centres, but „the commuter belt is widening.“ The rise of remote work supports his approach, allowing people to live further from their offices.

A large part of his portfolio consists of office buildings, yet Mattes reports virtually no vacancies. „We only see empty space when we’re waiting on building permits“, he says. That’s striking given the sector’s slump: office vacancy rates are elevated – especially outside major cities – hurting even big players such as Aroundtown. Remote work and a cautious economic climate have dampened demand for new leases, making office real estate, particularly in secondary locations, appear unattractive. How does Mattes buck the trend? „We give our properties closer attention. We treat D location offices the way others treat A location buildings.“

Mattes’ edge lies partly in his local roots. Based in Rhineland-Palatinate, he also has pilot projects in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Saarland. „When we want to lease an office building, we proactively approach potential tenants“, he explains. He is also willing to invest in tenant build-outs in exchange for longer lease terms: „We customise spaces to tenant needs.“

He will even convert commercial properties to residential use when it makes sense. Last year, industry journal Immobilien Zeitung reported his purchase of 65,000 square meters of rental space across 31 buildings in Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland from health insurer AOK. Although the plan initially called for residential conversions, Mattes says all the buildings remain offices for now: „Everything is leased, so there’s no reason to change.“

During his poker playing days, Mattes was a tenant himself. He recalls flying to a tournament in Bulgaria with his landlord: „My landlord lost 20,000 euros, I won money. On the flight home he said: "You think you’re clever, but what matters to me is that today is the third of the month – my rent checks arrive today.““ The remark stayed with him. Today, the 38-year-old owns 156 properties, about 60 of them offices, generating 11 million euros in annual rent, by his own account.

From poker, Mattes says, he learned the skill most valuable to him as an entrepreneur: decisive action. „I played so many hands and made so many decisions“, he reflects. „Sometimes a good decision doesn’t pay off immediately, but it does over the long run.“

Mattes calls himself a „doer“ and knows how to market both himself and his projects. Alongside his podcast Life Is a Game, he has authored Success Through Intuition, a Spiegel bestseller.