It is clearly noticeable in university cities - but not only there: rented flats are scarce and expensive in all major cities. As a result, tenants are moving to the countryside or staying in cramped living conditions in the city. What can be done about the housing shortage?
An analysis by ImmoScout24 compares the development of purchase and rental prices over the last eight years. The result shows that the strong pressure on the rental market has led to a considerable financial burden for tenants.
Due to low interest rates and high demand, purchase prices for flats and houses have risen significantly faster than rents for a long time. While the average rent for existing flats in Germany rose by 26.8 per cent between 2016 and 2022, purchase prices for condominiums increased almost three times as much in the same period (up 76.5 per cent). This trend peaked in 2022. Since then, the trend has reversed
Anyone looking for a flat in a major city today is not only faced with rising rents, but also fierce competition: In Germany's 40 largest cities, there were around 21 times as many enquiries for rental flats as for owner-occupied flats in March 2024. The housing situation for students in Germany varies greatly. While a room in a shared flat in Chemnitz, Jena or Dresden is still comparatively cheap, rents in Berlin, Hamburg or Cologne are usually significantly higher than the BAföG flat-rate housing allowance of 360 euros. Munich is the most expensive with an average rent of 760 euros including utilities for a room in a shared flat.
When flats become scarce, there is an urgent need to build more. All representatives of the property industry agree on this. However, the new figures on building permits are an alarm signal: in July 2024, 19.2 per cent fewer building permits were issued than in July 2023. "We now need speed, speed, speed: quick political decisions, accelerated planning plus approval and rapid construction of extra flats so that more people have the chance to have an affordable home again," comments ZIA President Iris Schöberl on the situation.
Photo / Graphic: © Destatis 2024
