idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
In the second quarter of 2026, asking rents in German cities rose by 0.8 percent compared to the previous quarter and by 3.0 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The nominal annual growth rate has thus stabilized close to the three-percent mark. Adjusted for inflation, the year-on-year increase amounts to only 0.3 percent, and rents fell in real terms for the second consecutive quarter.
These findings are based on the latest update of the GREIX (German Real Estate Index) Rental Price Index (https://www.kielinstitut.de/institute/research-centers/macroeconomics/macrofinan...) published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The index analyzes asking rents for apartments in 37 German cities and regions, including the 30 most populous cities, using data from the VALUE market database (https://www.value-marktdaten.de/en/).
"Asking rents continue to rise by around three percent in nominal terms. But since inflation also picked up, the year-on-year increase in real terms amounts to only 0.3 percent. Compared to the previous quarter, this is already the second consecutive decline. What matters here is less the average than the gap between cities, ranging from six percent above the previous year's level in Cologne to 0.8 percent below it in Berlin," says Jonas Zdrzalek (https://www.kielinstitut.de/experts/jonas-zdrzalek/), GREIX Project Lead, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Wide range among the eight largest cities
In a quarter-on-quarter comparison (Q2 2026 to Q1 2026), growth rates above the nationwide GREIX increase of 0.8 percent were recorded in Hamburg (+2.0%), Cologne (+1.3%), and Düsseldorf (+1.1%). Munich's growth rate of +0.8 percent matched the national average exactly. Berlin (+0.6%), Frankfurt a.M. (+0.1%), and Stuttgart (+0.0%), in contrast, recorded only modest increases. Asking rents in Leipzig declined slightly, by 0.1 percent.
The picture is clearer in year-on-year terms: Cologne (+6.0%), Hamburg (+5.1%), and Düsseldorf (+4.1%) lead the field among the eight largest cities. Munich (+3.7%), Frankfurt a.M. (+2.8%), and Leipzig (+2.8%) recorded moderate increases. Stuttgart grew by only 1.3 percent. Berlin, in contrast, was the only one of the eight largest cities to record a year-on-year decline, at −0.8 percent. The gap between the strongest and the weakest major city thus amounts to almost seven percentage points.
Rent levels: Munich remains the undisputed leader; Stuttgart illustrates the gap between level and momentum
Munich remains the most expensive city, with an average cold rent (net rent) of EUR 23.7 per square meter. Following at a significant distance are Frankfurt am Main (€17.8/m²), Hamburg (€16.5/m²), and Stuttgart (€16.3/m²). Cologne (€16.0/m²) and Berlin (€15.3/m²) represent the upper mid-range, while Düsseldorf stands at €14.9/m². Leipzig marks the lower end of the eight largest cities at €10.5/m². Current rent levels in Germany's eight largest cities continue to exhibit significant heterogeneity.
Stuttgart in particular illustrates how level and momentum can diverge: the city remains one of Germany's most expensive rental markets, yetbut has recently shownrecorded only very modest growth among the major cities, at +0.0 percent quarter-on-quarter and +1.3 percent year-on-year. A high price level therefore does not automatically mean that prices keep rising strongly, just as a low level does not mean that a market stays calm.
The weighted average across all 37 cities and regions (GREIX) is currently EUR 14.3 per square meter.
Other cities: strong growth beyond the eight largest cities
Developments outside the eight largest cities also remain uneven. Asking rents rose particularly strongly in quarter-on-quarter terms in Kiel (+2.0%), Karlsruhe (+1.8%), Wiesbaden (+1.6%), Münster (+1.6%), Lübeck (+1.5%), Essen (+1.4%), Wuppertal (+1.4%), and Potsdam (+1.3%). Declines remained the exception and occurred mainly in Braunschweig (−0.9%), Erfurt (−0.8%), Aachen (−0.4%), and the Rhein-Erft district near Cologne (−0.2%).
Relationship between rent levels and time on market
Listing durations show how quickly rental listings are taken off the market in individual cities, without clearly identifying the causes of these differences. An analysis of the last four quarters across the 37 GREIX cities shows a clear statistical relationship between the level of asking rents and the share of listings that disappear from platforms again within one week (correlation: 0.74). Cities with high rent levels, such as Munich, thus tend to have shorter time on market.
New-build apartments significantly more expensive than existing stock
In the second quarter of 2026, new-build rental apartments cost EUR 19.0 per square meter in cold rent on average across the GREIX, compared to €13.9 for existing-stock apartments, a gap of around €5.1, or 36.6 percent. Among the eight largest cities, Munich is by far the most expensive for new-build apartments, at €27.1 per square meter. It is followed by Hamburg at €21.5, Stuttgart at €20.7, and Frankfurt a.M. at €20.6. Leipzig remains the lower end of the eight largest cities at €14.6 per square meter.
Regular and long-term furnished apartments show similar price development
Since 2015, cold rents in the long-term furnished segment have developed similarly to regular listings through the second quarter of 2026. The index for regular listings stands at just above 151 points, while the index for long-term furnished cold rents stands at just under 155 points. The gap in the most recent quarter amounts to around 3.3 index points and is thus markedly smaller than in some earlier phases. The index comparison provides no robust evidence that long-term furnished listings have risen persistently more than regular listings since 2015.
"The pace of rent growth is not weakening further; instead, it is settling at around three percent year-on-year. At the same time, price developments differ little across the various apartment segments. Furnished and fixed-term rental apartments have not developed fundamentally differently from the regular rental market since 2015; earlier gaps between the segments have now almost disappeared again," says Jonas Zdrzalek, GREIX Project Lead, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Evaluation data from the GREIX Rental Price Index: https://www.kielinstitut.de/institute/research-centers/macroeconomics/macrofinan...
Now available on the GREIX website (https://www.kielinstitut.de/institute/research-centers/macroeconomics/macrofinan...):
Liquidity metrics as well as the comparison of new-build and existing-stock rent developments and the special segments
Methodological note
The price development of the GREIX rental price index is calculated as an index. This allows statistical methods (hedonic method) to be used to mitigate price distortions that often arise when using average price per square meter. For instance, if a high number of apartments in a prime location or in an extraordinary condition are sold, this can inflate average prices per square meter. However, such fluctuations may not reflect a general increase in real estate values. Using hedonic regression methods, specific property characteristics do not cause upward or downward distortions in the price trend.
About the GREIX Rental Price Index
What is the German Real Estate Index (GREIX)?
The German Real Estate Index (GREIX) is a publicly funded research project hosted at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy that aims to increase transparency in the German real estate market. To this end, GREIX regularly publishes updates on the development of sales prices (GREIX sales price index) as well as on the development of asking rents (GREIX rental price index). In addition to these price developments, GREIX publishes special analyses, for example on affordability, or on price-determining factors such as location or energy efficiency.
What is the GREIX Rental Price Index?
The GREIX rental price index is a rental price index for Germany based on asking rents for apartments from several platforms. It tracks rental price developments in individual cities and regions since 2012 and is based on several million listings. The dataset can be used to analyze trends in the rental market and to compare them with developments in the GREIX sales price index. Rental price indices for currently 37 cities and regions are freely available at https://www.kielinstitut.de/institute/research-centers/macroeconomics/macrofinan.... The dataset will gradually be expanded to include additional cities.
What data and methods are used to compile the indices?
The evaluation is based on the VALUE Marktdatenbank (https://www.value-marktdaten.de/en/) provides the data foundation. It is based on an extensive collection of carefully prepared real estate market data from more than 100 sources. Asking rents are analyzed using state-of-the-art scientific methods and statistical techniques (hedonic regression method). The GREIX rental price index therefore represents the highest standard of scientific data quality.
Media Contact:
(on behalf of Friederike McKeague)
Julia Wacket
Chief Communications Officer
+49 431 8814-411
julia.wacket@kielinstitut.de
Friederike McKeague
GREIX Communications
T +49 151 41437895
friederike.mckeague@kielinstitut.de
Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Kiel Office
Kiellinie 66
24105 Kiel
Germany
Berlin Office
Chausseestraße 111
10115 Berlin
Germany
Contact
+49 431 8814-1
www.kielinstitut.de
Dr. Jonas Zdrzalek
Kiel Institute Researcher
jonas.zdrzalek@kielinstitut.de
Steffen Zetzmann
Kiel Institute Researcher
steffen.zetzmann@kielinstitut.de
Dr. Francisco Osswald do Amaral
Kiel Institute Fellow
francisco.amaral@kielinstitut.de
Rent price development nominal/real
Copyright: Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Price development major cities and GREIX
Copyright: Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten, Wirtschaftsvertreter, Wissenschaftler
Gesellschaft, Politik, Wirtschaft
überregional
Forschungs- / Wissenstransfer
Englisch
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
