Pressure on the rental market in Germany’s major cities has been increasing for years. New figures now show that prices are also becoming significantly more expensive in regions that are otherwise less in the spotlight.
Up 30 percent in one year: Nowhere in Germany have new rental contracts risen as much as outside Berlin. This is evident from the federal government’s response to a question from the Left Party in the Bundestag.
According to the report, Potsdam recorded the largest increase of all districts and independent cities in first-time and re-lettings last year, with an increase of 31.2 percent. The capital itself followed with an increase in prices of 26.7 percent. At the weekend, several thousand people protested there against excessively high rents and the federal government’s housing policy.
More than half of people in Germany live in rented accommodation – but there are too few apartments in popular areas. Pressure on the rental market has therefore been increasing for years, especially in large cities and university towns. So far, it has been mainly structurally weak and rural regions that have been spared. But the federal government’s response to a query from Left Party MP Caren Lay shows that rents are now becoming more expensive in some sparsely populated regions too – albeit at a comparatively low level.
The figures come from the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) and reflect the range of offers that apartment seekers encounter when they search online for a rental apartment with a living space of 40 to 100 square meters. Notices, waiting lists and direct brokerage via real estate agents are not taken into account.
In sparsely populated regions it becomes more expensive
It is striking that even the least populated district in Germany is in the top 10 in terms of rent growth: In Prignitz in the far northwest of Brandenburg, rents in advertisements rose by 18 percent from 2022 to 2023. Overall, however, living there is still more affordable than in many other regions: Despite the significant increase, tenants only have to pay an average of 7.08 euros per square meter after moving. This puts Prignitz even below the national average of 7.30 euros per square meter.
Two districts in the rather sparsely populated Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania also have high rent increases: the Baltic Sea district of Vorpommern-Rügen around Stralsund with an increase of almost 20 percent and the district of Vorpommern-Greifwald on the Polish border with more than 15 percent. The Left Party in the Bundestag considers this to be threatening, as many people here have low incomes. “Rents on the Baltic Sea and the German-Polish border are becoming unaffordable,” they criticized. However, the same applies to the Baltic Sea districts: the price per square meter is still significantly more affordable than in many other areas. In Vorpommern-Rügen, for example, you pay about half as much for the same area as in Berlin.
Several Bavarian districts also in the top 10
According to the data, rents also became significantly more expensive after a move in the Upper Palatinate district of Tirschenreuth near the Bavarian-Czech border (plus 23.9 percent) – but here too at a very low rent level. Here, a square meter can still be had for around 6.86 euros.
In Kaiserslautern, the rents asked rose by almost 20 percent, in Kaufbeuren by 17 percent, in the Trier-Saarburg district and in the Wunsiedel district in the Fichtelgebirge by just over 15 percent.
Berlin is now the second most expensive city to rent
While the average cost of an apartment after moving nationwide was 10.55 euros per square meter, the same space in Berlin cost more than 16 euros. This makes the capital the second most expensive city in Germany to rent. According to the BBSR, the only higher rents are in Munich, at more than 20.50 euros per square meter – and, the Left emphasized, this despite the fact that Berliners earn significantly less.
According to a study commissioned by the Berlin Tenants’ Association, a third of Berlin households can no longer afford an apartment on the free market. More than every second Berlin tenant household earns so little that they are entitled to state assistance such as a housing permit for social housing.
Several thousand people demanded a “radical change in housing policy” at a demonstration in Berlin at the weekend. Among other things, they demanded a nationwide rent cap and a ban on terminations for personal use and forced evictions. Left Party MP Lay also stressed: “A nationwide rent cap must finally be introduced.” The rent cap in its current form is clearly ineffective. This instrument is intended to ensure that the rent in popular areas is in principle no more than ten percent above the local comparative rent when a new contract is concluded.
Source: Stern
