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Rent in Germany: dramatic differences between the cities!
Leipzig has the lowest rents in Germany (€ 10.10/m²). Current developments and trends in the 2025 housing market.
Rent in Germany: dramatic differences between the cities!
The rental prices in Germany show a remarkable development in the second quarter of 2025, which presents itself differently in the country's large cities. According to the current surveys of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which were presented in a recently published report [ifw-kiel.de] (https://www.ifw-kiel.de/de/publikations/aktuelles/greix-mietpreis index-q2-2025-preistrieb-laesst-nach/), in which the average cold rent at € 22.82/m² lies. In comparison, Frankfurt am Main has the second highest rental price with € 17.32/m².
The following cities present themselves with similar cold rents: Stuttgart (€ 15.99/m²), Berlin (€ 15.62/m²), Hamburg (€ 15.58/m²), Cologne (€ 15.10/m²) and Düsseldorf (€ 14.25/m²). However, Leipzig stands out as the cheapest among the eight largest cities, where the rent rent is only € 10.10/m². This price range demonstrates the significant differences in the rental price level within Germany.
Price development in other cities
It is also interesting that rents outside the big cities have risen compared to the previous quarter, with one exception: Karlsruhe recorded a decrease from 0.6 % to € 13.35/m². The highest increase was registered in Münster with +3.5 % (€ 13.87/m²). Several East German cities also have rent increases, including Erfurt (+1.3 % at € 9.43/m²), Dresden (+1.1 % at € 9.89/m²) and Chemnitz (+1 % at € 6.15/m²).
A remarkable trend is evident in the average advertisement duration for apartments, which fell from 34 days in 2015 to 23 days in 2025. It is particularly noteworthy that more than every sixth apartment quickly disappears from the offer, even every fourth in Berlin. This development reflects the high demand for living space, especially in urban metropolitan areas.
Economic framework
In addition to the rental price analysis, an examination of the KFW kfw.de is highlighting the rental load for households in Germany. This has decreased in recent years, despite an annual increase of 1.3 % of the apartment rents between 2008 and 2018. The available income from private households grew by an average of 2.4 % annually, which led to the total housing costs rising more slowly than income.
In 2018, only 24 % of low earners felt housing costs than a severe burden, a positive development compared to earlier years. These financial framework also contributed to the stability of the housing costs, which make up on average 26 % of the available income-higher than the EU average of 21 %.
The causes of the increased offer rents are diverse, not least due to immigration and strong economic growth in urban areas. In Berlin, for example, the cold rents rose by 1.8 % per year between 2015 and 2018 - a mention, since this is above the increases in other German federal states.
In view of these developments, residential and social policy recommends to eliminate regional housing shortages and to promote the mobilization of building land. In addition, acceleration of the housing construction is of central importance in order to cover the need and keep rental prices stable.
In the current political debates about rental price controls, such as the Berlin rental cover, critics show up that warn of the negative consequences. Historical experiences suggest that such regulations can lead to a decay of the building stock without sufficient returns.