Overview
- Quarter-on-quarter asking rents rose 0.5% in Q3 and were flat in real terms, with a 3.5% annual nominal increase and the weakest real yearly gain (1.2%) since late 2021.
- Market tightness persists as listings remain about 15% below 2015 levels, offers increased 3.8% from Q2, and the average time on market fell to roughly 24 days.
- City patterns diverged: Leipzig logged the strongest quarterly rise (+1.1%) and Düsseldorf followed (+0.7%), Berlin and Hamburg edged down, and Munich stayed top at €22.96 per m² with Leipzig the lowest at €10.14.
- IfW’s Jonas Zdrzalek points to possible affordability limits and a shift of demand toward furnished flats and shared housing, warning that without more new construction the squeeze is unlikely to ease.
- The GREIX index tracks asking rents from real-estate portals and broker sites across 37 cities and regions, which may underrepresent privately allocated—often cheaper—apartments.