Apartment rents: getting more and more expensive, faster and faster

dpa | The rise in apartment rents has accelerated. In the third quarter, rents for apartments on offer rose by 1.2 percent compared to the previous quarter, without taking inflation into account, as the Kiel Institute for the World Economy announced.

This is the strongest increase since the first quarter of 2025. Among the eight largest German cities, rents rose the most in Berlin and Düsseldorf. They increased by 2.1 and 2 percent respectively. According to the Kiel Institute, asking rents rose by a nominal 0.8 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Compared to the same period last year, rents from July to September were 3.7 percent higher without taking inflation into account. Housing market expert Jonas Zdrzalek from the Kiel Institute said that rental price dynamics are increasing slightly again. Prices for existing apartments developed comparatively strongly. These are already occupied apartments that tend to be cheaper than new apartments.

Unlike the comparison with the previous quarter, the analysis of the same period last year excludes seasonal effects on the housing market.

Year-on-year, rents rose the most in Hamburg at 6.7 percent. Outside the eight largest cities, rents rose the most in Bochum, Augsburg and Mannheim. The increase in the three cities was between 6.3 and 5 percent. The reasons for the development were not given.

It should be noted that the Kiel Institute says it evaluates rents in 37 cities and regions. These include the 30 most populous cities in the country. The Greix rental price index therefore primarily provides an overview of how rents are developing in large cities. The rental price index is made up of real estate market data from more than 100 sources.