Overview
- Germany’s average apartment size has stalled for the first time and is expected to shrink, according to a new DIW analysis.
- From 1965 to the early 2000s the average expanded from 69 to 94 square meters as living space per person more than doubled to about 49 square meters.
- Newly built units have been getting smaller since around 2005, a shift now starting to influence the overall housing stock.
- DIW projects the average dwelling to fall by roughly six square meters to about 88.5 square meters by 2050.
- The study cites affordability pressures and developer incentives alongside demographic change, with many large flats still in the stock and smaller, energy‑efficient designs expected to dominate.