Students who are looking for an apartment or a shared room have to budget more and more money for it. The situation in university towns is becoming “increasingly desperate.”
According to a study, newly rented rooms in shared apartments or apartments for students are becoming increasingly expensive. The so-called asking rents have risen by 6.2 percent within a year, as shown in the 2023 student housing report from the financial service provider MLP and the German Economic Institute (IW).
To do this, the rents for apartments in 38 German university towns were analyzed, which were advertised on major real estate portals and in newspapers in the second quarter.
Additional costs also increase significantly
Rental prices have increased in all 38 cities for the second year in a row. Heidelberg was the front runner with an increase of 8 percent, ahead of Oldenburg (+6.8) and Berlin (+6.4). The lowest price increases were in Chemnitz (+1), Jena (+1.6) and Regensburg (+2.2 percent). But not only are basic rents becoming more expensive, the additional housing costs have also increased dramatically, according to the study. “On average, the discounts for heating costs stated in advertisements increased by 43 percent.”
Student digs in Frankfurt are the most expensive
For better comparability, prices were calculated in the report for a 30 square meter model apartment near the university and for a 20 square meter model shared room. New student tenants in Frankfurt (Main) have to fork out the most: 696 euros for the small model apartment. The former leader Munich comes in just behind with 695 euros, ahead of Stuttgart (616) and Bonn (598).
A 30 square meter model apartment is cheapest in the eastern German cities of Magdeburg (282 euros) and Chemnitz (294 euros). The situation is similar with shared rooms: in Frankfurt, a model shared room with 20 square meters costs 494 euros, in Munich 480, in Chemnitz 254 and in Magdeburg 238 euros.
Situation “increasingly desperate”
“The situation on the housing market is becoming increasingly desperate for students,” wrote real estate expert Michael Voigtländer from the German Economic Institute in a foreword to the housing report. Rents for student housing have been rising continuously for a decade, but the dynamics have become even more intense. “In addition, rising energy prices are now putting a strain on the monthly budget as well as the continued high consumer prices, especially for food.”
Increasing competition in the rental market
The authors see several reasons for the rising rents: A decline in construction activity due to rising interest rates and rising construction costs as well as an increase in the cost of home ownership increases the competition for rental apartments. In addition, immigration to student cities has increased again after Corona. “Because construction activity is currently declining significantly, the shortage of living space will increase even further – which will make further sharp rent increases inevitable,” they continue to predict.
The federal government’s “Young Living” program is a step in the right direction, according to the report. In the current year, the traffic light provided the federal states with 500 million euros for the construction of student and trainee dormitories as part of social housing. Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) recently announced that this program would be extended by two years, so that a total of 1.5 billion euros would be available. In Germany, around 2.9 million people are enrolled at universities.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
