Flats in the city are too small, too expensive and hard to find for families
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It is becoming increasingly difficult for families with children to find suitable accommodation in the city. They are therefore looking for larger and cheaper rented accommodation or affordable home ownership outside the city. A willingness to compromise and ingenuity are required.
A recent analysis shows that more than every second family in the metropolises is looking for a rental flat or house outside the city limits. The proportion of rental flats with four or more rooms in cities has fallen by a third since 2012.
61 per cent of all families in major German cities are looking for a home beyond the city limits. The proportion of flats with four or more rooms on the property portal ImmoScout24 fell to less than ten per cent in 2023. The average number of rooms in newly built flats fell from 3.5 rooms in 2012 to 2.8 rooms in 2023. One in six flats in German cities is considered overcrowded - in 2012, it was less than one in ten.
People who own their own home are much less likely to live in cramped conditions. Only 3.6 per cent of all owners suffer from overcrowding. Among tenants, the figure is 18.7 per cent - and rising. Single parents and their children are particularly affected by overcrowding (28.4 per cent). The overcrowding rate is three times higher in cities (15.5 per cent) than in rural areas (4.9 per cent). Minors are six times more likely to live in cramped housing conditions than older people aged 65 and over.
Older people in Germany have significantly more living space available on average than younger people. Households in which the main income earner was aged 65 or over used an average of 68.5 square metres of living space per person in 2022. The figure was 54.8 square metres for 45 to 64-year-olds and an average of 45.4 square metres for those under 25. "In addition to the size of the household, the year in which the person moved in and whether they were homeowners also have an impact on the available living space," explains Daniel Zimmermann, expert for housing at the Federal Statistical Office.
(Photo: © Andrea, Pixabay)