Rental flats remain in demand: in the first nine months of 2026, asking rents for existing flats rose by 2.1 per cent nationwide. In the 15 largest German cities, the increase was even slightly higher, at an average of 2.9 per cent. Across Germany, average asking rents nationwide now stand at 10.83 euros per square metre. This is shown by the latest immowelt Rent Compass, whose findings have been covered by immobilienmanager and Nürnberger Nachrichten. For the property sector, the analysis confirms the sustained demand for housing.
Behind this nationwide trend lie significant regional differences. The strongest increases among the 15 largest cities were recorded in Hamburg (4.8 per cent) and Frankfurt am Main (4.7 per cent). There, average asking rents stand at 13.98 and 17.12 euros per square metre respectively. Munich remains the most expensive rental market surveyed, at 21.65 euros, with an increase of 2.8 per cent. Asking rents have risen more slowly in Leipzig and Berlin. Here, the increase stood at 1.3 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. Average asking rents now stand at 9.59 euros per square metre in Leipzig and 14.63 euros per square metre in Berlin.
Rents are also continuing to rise in other major cities. In Bremen and Dresden, asking rents have risen by 3.4 per cent in both cities since the start of the year; in Cologne by 3.1 per cent; and in Nuremberg by 3.0 per cent. According to immowelt, demand is further bolstered by the fact that high financing costs are currently making it difficult for many households to buy property. Rental enquiries accounted for 81.7 per cent of all enquiries on the portal between January and August, up from 80.6 per cent in the same period last year. At the same time, in many places, too little additional housing is coming onto the market.
For the capital region, the detailed Rental Compass also looks beyond the city limits. Asking rents in the municipalities surrounding Berlin have also continued to rise slightly. Immowelt interprets this as an indication that housing demand is increasingly shifting towards the surrounding municipalities. This finding is relevant to the development of new residential neighbourhoods: the region’s supply of flats can only be meaningfully assessed by considering the city and its surrounding areas together. The analysis thus provides an indication of regional demand trends without providing specific figures for rent increases for individual surrounding municipalities.
The example of Cologne illustrates how an increase in supply can have an impact. A total of 4,623 flats were completed there in 2025, more than two and a half times as many as in the previous year. At the same time, the rise in asking rents slowed from 9.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2025 to 3.1 per cent. Immowelt sees the increase in new-build activity as a possible factor contributing to this trend.
“The sustained demand for rental flats shows just how important investment in additional housing is. In this context, we must view the capital region as a single, interconnected housing market. Growing demand in the municipalities surrounding Berlin opens up opportunities to create new housing supply where it is needed,” says Jacopo Mingazzini, CEO of The Grounds. “Suitable locations, good transport links and a reliable regulatory framework are crucial to ensuring that this demand actually translates into new homes.”
