For the 2022 census, data such as net rent and vacancy rates were collected for every residential building in Germany for the first time. Our maps show what the situation is like where you live.
Table of contents
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Map I: Where housing is most expensive in Germany
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Map II: Where in Germany most apartments are empty
7.28 euros. According to a new survey, that is how much a square meter of living space in Germany costs on average. In net rent. This is the rental cost for a property, excluding operating and additional costs, such as heating costs. These are on top of that. And how high the respective rental price actually is on site depends on other factors, especially the location of the apartment in question. For the 2022 census, data such as net rent and vacancies were also collected and published for the first time. Based on this data, the map below shows how high the rents are in your place of residence and in other German cities and municipalities.
Map I: Where housing is most expensive in Germany
Note on use: The darker the shade of red, the higher the Net rent Enter a place name in the search box to get more details. You can also pan the map and zoom in or out.
Not surprising: In large cities and metropolitan areas with limited supply and high demand, affordable housing is naturally extremely rare in many areas. The German municipalities where rent per square meter is most expensive are in Bavaria, in the Munich district: Neubiberg with 13.84 euros per square meter and Grünwald with 13.08 euros per square meter.
In structurally weaker areas, housing is significantly cheaper. The cheapest apartments are in Saxony-Anhalt with an average of 5.38 euros per square meter. At 1.91 euros per square meter, the net rent excluding heating costs is lowest in Drehnow in eastern Brandenburg.
Map II: Where in Germany most apartments are empty
The darker the shade of red, the higher the vacancy rate. Enter a place name in the search window to get more details. You can also move the map section and zoom in or out.
As mentioned above, the 2022 census also records the vacancy rate of apartments. The highest rate of unused living space is around 43 percent in Hartmannsdorf in the Saale-Holzland district in Thuringia. Remarkably, there is also a high vacancy rate in some areas with high demand and limited supply, such as Kampen on Sylt. There, many houses are empty most of the year simply because the wealthy owners from the mainland can afford it (more on this here at stern+).
However, not surprisingly, many of the towns and communities with high vacancy rates are located in structurally weak regions in the new federal states. The lowest vacancy rate in Germany is also in the east of the country, in the municipality of Roggentin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. There the rate is less than one percent.
The data shows one thing quite clearly: an average value like the one at the beginning says very little when viewed across the whole country. Housing is a very inconsistent issue in Germany and is influenced by many regional and economic factors.
Source: Stern
