The enormous rise in rents has slowed down. However, according to the analysis institute Empirica, rents will continue to rise "until both the cost of producing housing stagnates and the gap between demand for new construction and actual completions is closed."
The GREIX rent index published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy evaluates asking rents for apartments in 20 German cities and regions based on the VALUE market database. According to this, asking rents in German cities rose only slightly in the second quarter of this year. The increase was even below the general inflation rate. Compared to the previous quarter (Q2/2025 to Q1/2025), they rose by 0.7 percent. Adjusted for inflation, i.e., measured in current purchasing power, asking rents actually fell slightly by 0.2 percent.
Rising rents are particularly noticeable in large cities. Munich is twice as expensive as Leipzig. Compared to the previous quarter, rents rose most sharply in Düsseldorf (+1.5 percent) and Hamburg (+ ). More moderate increases were recorded in Berlin (+0.7 percent), Leipzig, and Munich (both +0.3 percent). In Stuttgart (+0.2 percent), Cologne (+0.1 percent), and Frankfurt am Main (-0.2 percent), asking rents remained virtually unchanged.
The current rental price level shows a wide range. The average rent per square meter was highest in Munich (€22.82/m²), followed by Frankfurt am Main (€17.32/m²). In Stuttgart (€15.99/m²), Berlin (€15.62/m²), Hamburg (€15.58/m²) and Cologne (€15.10/m²), basic rents were almost identical, closely followed by Düsseldorf (€14.25/m²). Leipzig was the only city to see a decline, with rents falling to €10.10/m². Outside the eight largest cities, rents for apartments also rose compared with the previous quarter.
At the same time, the period during which a property is advertised online has fallen significantly. Over the past ten years, the average duration has fallen from 34 days (2015) to 23 days (2025). More than one in six apartments is currently off the market within two days. In Berlin, this figure is now as high as one in four.
Photo: © Karlheinz Pape, Pixabay
