Overview
- New-contract rents rose 1.0% quarter-on-quarter and 3.8% year-on-year in Q3, with the steepest increases in Düsseldorf (+5.6%), Köln (+5.1%) and Hamburg (+4.4%).
- Berlin was the sole major-city outlier with a 0.2% dip in new rents, which IW views as a short-term correction following the failed rent cap.
- Owner-occupied values climbed for a third straight quarter, with single- and two-family houses up 0.9% quarter-on-quarter and condominiums up 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and 2.6% year-on-year.
- IW cites stabilizing mortgage rates and rising wages as possible drivers, and reports a 4.4% annual increase in house prices in big-city suburbs.
- With annual housing needs estimated at 372,000 units versus about 235,000 completions expected this year, IW sees rents and purchase prices tracking in parallel next, while Die Linke presses for tougher action on rent gouging and a rent cap.