Rental prices for apartments in Germany rose at the sharpest rate since early 2025 in the third quarter of this year, according to data released Wednesday by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Nationwide, average asking rents for offered apartments increased 1.2 percent from the second quarter, the strongest quarterly gain since Q1 2025, and were up 3.7 percent year-over-year.
The acceleration was driven primarily by existing apartments, which saw a 1.2 percent quarterly rise, while new builds increased just 0.6 percent, the institute said. Jonas Zdrzalek, a housing market expert at the Kiel Institute, noted that after two quarters of annual growth hovering around 3 percent, “the rent price dynamic is now slightly increasing again” .
Among the eight largest cities, Berlin and Düsseldorf recorded the steepest quarterly jumps, at 2.1 percent and 2.0 percent respectively, while Hamburg led annual growth with a 6.7 percent increase. Munich remained the most expensive city, with an average cold rent of €23.70 per square meter, followed by Frankfurt at €17.90 and Hamburg at €16.50. Chemnitz was the cheapest at €6.30 .
Outside the top eight, Bochum, Augsburg and Mannheim saw the sharpest annual rises, between 5 and 6.3 percent. The Kiel Institute’s Greix index, which tracks 37 cities and regions, draws on data from over 100 sources .
