Rents in Germany continued to increase in all seven major cities in 2024. The average rent per square meter in Munich was approximately **** euros — the highest in the country. Conversely, Düsseldorf had the most affordable rent, at approximately **** euros per square meter. But how does renting compare to buying? According to the house price to rent ratio, house prices in Germany have risen faster than rents, making renting more affordable than buying. Affordability of housing in Germany In 2023, Germany was among the European countries with a relatively high house price to income ratio in Europe. The indicator compares the affordability of housing across OECD countries and is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 chosen as a base year. Between 2012 and 2022, property prices in the country rose much faster than income, with the house price to income index peaking at *** index points at the beginning of 2022. Slower house price growth in the following years has led to the index declining, as incomes catch up. Nevertheless, homebuyers in 2024 faced significantly higher mortgage interest rates, contributing to a higher final cost. How much does buying a property in Germany cost? Just as with renting, Munich was the most expensive city for newly built apartments. In 2024, the cost per square meter in Munich was almost ***** euros pricier than in the runner-up city, Frankfurt. Detached and semi-detached houses are usually more expensive. The price gap between Munich and the second most expensive city, Stuttgart, was nearly ***** euros per square meter.

The average rent price of residential real estate in Germany was approximately two euros higher for newly built properties than existing ones in 2023. Rents have increased steadily since 2004 and in the fourth quarter of 2023, the average square meter rent for a newly constructed property reached **** euros. The rent for existing housing was slightly lower at *** euros per square meter. Among the major cities in Germany, Munich had the highest rents.

Germany DE: Rent Price Index: sa data was reported at 115.012 2015=100 in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 112.600 2015=100 for 2023. Germany DE: Rent Price Index: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 63.513 2015=100 from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 115.012 2015=100 in 2024 and a record low of 13.547 2015=100 in 1960. Germany DE: Rent Price Index: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Annual.

Rent Inflation in Germany increased to 2.20 percent in August from 2.10 percent in July of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Germany Rent Inflation.

In 2023, Frankfurt and Munich were the German cities with the highest prime rents for office real estate, but Berlin had the highest average rent. In Munich, the prime office rent amounted to ** euros per square meter, while the average rent was twice lower, at ***** euros per square meter. Prime rents refer to the top price segment in the market, usually buildings in the most desired locations and of the highest specifications.

In 2023, Berlin Mitte was the most expensive district for apartment rentals, with an average asking basic rent of **** euros per square meter (excluding extra costs). The average for the city in this period was ***** euros per square meter. That was higher than the average rent in the Germany.

The overall average cost of logistic space per square meter per month increased slightly across Germany between 2014 and 2023. Munich had the highest overall rent, amounting to *** euros per square meter.

In 2022, Altstadt-Lehel was the most expensive district for rent in Munich, Germany, with an average monthly rent of about ** euros per square meter of living space (excluding extra costs). In comparison, some of the more affordable districts, such as Feldmoching-Hasenbergl and Aubing-Lochhausen-Langwied, had average rents of under ** euros per square meter.

In 2022, Berlin Mitte was the most expensive district in Berlin, Germany, for new rental contracts. Median rents show the middle value of rent expenditure, meaning that 50 percent of newly rented apartments in Berlin Mitte in 2022 had rental costs exceeding 15.19 euros per square meter, and 50 percent of apartments had rents below this value. Meanwhile, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg witnessed the highest rental price increase since 2018.

The overall average cost of logistic space per square meter per month increased slightly across Germany between 2014 and 2023. Munich had the highest overall rent, amounting to *** euros per square meter.

Germany Commercial Property Market Index: WG: 49 Cities: Average Retail Rent: Suburban data was reported at 166.760 1975=100 in 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 166.010 1975=100 for 2018. Germany Commercial Property Market Index: WG: 49 Cities: Average Retail Rent: Suburban data is updated yearly, averaging 143.580 1975=100 from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2019, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 192.090 1975=100 in 1993 and a record low of 100.000 1975=100 in 1975. Germany Commercial Property Market Index: WG: 49 Cities: Average Retail Rent: Suburban data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bulwiengesa AG. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.EB004: Property Market Index.

The annual primary rent costs for warehouses over ***** square meters in the occupier logistics market in Germany increased in recent years. Headline rents refer to the rent payable after rent-free periods or incentives, excluding taxes and charges. In the first quarter of 2025, the square meter rent for prime properties in Munich, or warehouses of highest quality in the best location, amounted to *** euros annually. In Europe, the most expensive markets for large warehouses were in London and Oslo.

Rhineland-Palatinate was the German region with the highest increase in rents in 2024. Meanwhile, the price of net rents, not including heating costs, in Berlin rose by 2.39 percent in 2024 as compared to the previous year.

Germany DE: Price to Rent Ratio: sa data was reported at 127.280 2015=100 in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 132.141 2015=100 for 2023. Germany DE: Price to Rent Ratio: sa data is updated yearly, averaging 124.182 2015=100 from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2024, with 55 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 159.163 2015=100 in 1981 and a record low of 89.430 2015=100 in 2010. Germany DE: Price to Rent Ratio: sa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.OECD.AHPI: House Price Index: Seasonally Adjusted: OECD Member: Annual. Nominal house prices divided by rent price indices

Germany Commercial Property Market Index: 127 Cities: Average City Centre Office Rent data was reported at 114.360 1990=100 in 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 107.870 1990=100 for 2018. Germany Commercial Property Market Index: 127 Cities: Average City Centre Office Rent data is updated yearly, averaging 89.865 1990=100 from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2019, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 114.360 1990=100 in 2019 and a record low of 79.810 1990=100 in 2005. Germany Commercial Property Market Index: 127 Cities: Average City Centre Office Rent data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bulwiengesa AG. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.EB004: Property Market Index.

Munich, Berlin, and Frankfurt am Main were the most expensive German cities for prime high street retail real estate in 2023. In the second quarter of the year, the monthly rent per square meter on the primary shopping street in Munich, Kaufingerstraße-Marienplatz, amounted to 340 euros per square meter. On Tauentzienstraße, Berlin, retailers paid on average 290 euros per square meter for a new letting of 100 square meters on a ground level with a six-meter shopfront.

Since 2019, the rent of retail real estate has decreased across most German markets. In Munich, which was the most expensive city in Germany for renting prime retail real estate, the prime rent fell from *** to *** euros per square meter between 2019 and 2023. Meanwhile, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt completed the top three with monthly rents of *** euros per square meter and *** euros per square meter in 2023, respectively.

Germany Commercial Property Market Index: WG: 49 Cities: Average City Centre Office Rent data was reported at 226.730 1975=100 in 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 216.910 1975=100 for 2018. Germany Commercial Property Market Index: WG: 49 Cities: Average City Centre Office Rent data is updated yearly, averaging 176.650 1975=100 from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2019, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 226.730 1975=100 in 2019 and a record low of 100.000 1975=100 in 1975. Germany Commercial Property Market Index: WG: 49 Cities: Average City Centre Office Rent data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bulwiengesa AG. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.EB004: Property Market Index.

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The property brokerage sector was hardly affected by the coronavirus crisis and the war in Ukraine. Demand for residential property in urban areas is very high, while demand for office and retail space collapsed in 2020. The slump in demand for commercial space was largely absorbed by industry players, as many companies sold their commercial properties and rented them themselves in order to increase their liquidity in the short term. These sale-and-lease-back transactions often required advice from industry players. Due to the weak development on the commercial property market, turnover is expected to fall by 0.9% to 12.8 billion euros in the current year. On average, a decline in turnover of 3.3% per year has been observed over the past five years. The increased regulation of the property market, such as the rent freeze, has also contributed to this. Politicians have also responded to the sometimes low level of qualification of estate agents by making further training certificates a legal requirement.Despite rising property prices, estate agents are still benefiting from a high willingness to invest in property as a capital investment in the current year. One reason for this is the high level of rents. However, the high level of interest rates reduces the incentives to invest in a home if the client is reliant on borrowed capital. The short supply of properties is driving up property prices in many German cities and is a major factor in the high level of brokerage fees that estate agents receive for successful brokerage. In addition, residential property is considered an attractive capital investment, especially for wealthy private individuals and investors, which is considered crisis-proof in times of volatile securities markets and persistent inflation.Over the next five years up to and including 2029, IBISWorld expects industry turnover to increase by an average of 0.2% per year to an estimated 12.9 billion euros. While the number of commercial property sales will fall due to the negative impact of working from home and online retail, industry players will benefit from recovering demand on the residential property market. Demand for residential property will once again benefit from the reputation of residential property as a crisis-proof investment, even if the high level of interest rates will continue to dampen demand somewhat. In order to remain competitive in a highly fragmented market with low barriers to market entry, companies must increasingly focus on high-quality service offerings.