Property prices have fallen across Germany since 2022. The internet portal ImmoScout24 has analysed where families can now find affordable single-family homes. Prices are below the previous year's level in six out of 16 federal states. For new builds, this is the case in five federal states, most noticeably in Bremen and Hamburg.
Single-family homes are cheapest in Saarland, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. The highest price increases for existing houses can be observed in Thuringia, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony. Prices for new builds are rising most strongly in Berlin, Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. This is shown by a current analysis by ImmoScout24 in the sixteen federal states.
The decline or stagnation in property prices is a consequence of the turnaround in interest rates, which in turn was triggered by rising inflation following the energy crisis. In the meantime, the European Central Bank has lowered its key interest rate for the first time in almost five years by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25 per cent, thereby allowing property prices to consolidate and creating opportunities for the economy to recover.
Property prices have developed differently in the individual federal states over the last two years. Nevertheless, the desire of German citizens to own their own home remains unbroken. Smaller houses with a living space of up to 150 square metres are particularly popular.
Interest rates have now stabilised at a stable level. This makes private property purchases more calculable again. Property prices for single-family homes in the federal states fluctuate between EUR 2,133 per square metre in Saarland and EUR 5,403 per square metre in Hamburg. However, the strongest increase in asking prices for existing homes was not in the city states of Berlin or Hamburg, where demand is strong, but in Thuringia. There, asking prices for existing single-family homes rose by 3.7 per cent within a year. Prices for existing single-family homes also rose sharply year-on-year in North Rhine-Westphalia (3.6 per cent) and Saxony (3.4 per cent).
(Graphic: ImmoScout24)
