The housing market in the eight German metropolises recorded moderate rental price increases in the first half of 2014. While asking rents in Cologne and Munich are stable and those in Hamburg are even decreasing, Berlin, Leipzig and Düsseldorf recorded annual rental growth of up to 8% in the first half of 2014. This illustrates an increasingly differentiated movement of rental rates among the analysed cities – after a period of substantial growth in recent years.
This contrasts with the development of condominium sale prices, which continue to rise. The markets in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg have even gained significant momentum. Asking prices in Stuttgart increase by more than 18% year-on-year.
In the first half of 2014, the transaction volume was marginally higher than in the same period in 2013. Berlin remains by far the most important regional investment market in Germany. Please refer to our newly published Residential City Profiles for more information.