Explosive increase: Berlin becomes the second most tax city of Germany

Explosive increase: Berlin becomes the second most tax city of Germany

Berlin: Rent rises rapidly, while real estate prices fall

Berlin is already one of the most expensive cities in Germany when it comes to rents. But the climb has accelerated again in the past few months. Real estate experts already see the capital as the second most tax city in Germany in relation to the rents of offer. At the same time, real estate prices remain at a high level despite the general downward trend in real estate.

The current figures of the Association of German Pfandbriefbanken (VDP) show that rents in Berlin rose by a whopping 9.5 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period in the same period. Berlin thus records the greatest increase among the seven German metropolises. On average, rents in Germany rose by 6.2 percent.

In contrast, real estate prices in Berlin fell by 3.6 percent last year - the slightest decline among all major German cities. Frankfurt recorded a drop in prices of over nine percent, while Munich and Hamburg had a decline of over six percent. The main reason for the price increase in Berlin is that too few apartments have been built for years to do justice to the influx. Berlin has had a very low vacancy rate for a long time. Although real estate prices have dropped slightly compared to the first quarter, only about a fifth of Berliners live in their own real estate. Berlin is known to be the capital of the tenants.

The Großmakler Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) recorded enormous climbs of the offer rents in Berlin in the first half of 2022. According to JLL, the square meter price of the offer rents in Berlin was 17.50 euros and thus in second place behind Munich (22.50 euros) and in front of Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Although offer rents do not yet mean final contracts, the Immowelt portal also shows that Berlin has risen to the second most taxable city in Germany in a few months in terms of offer rents.

A main reason for the steady increase in rents is the strong immigration to Berlin. At the end of 2022, the city had over 3.8 million inhabitants - as many as never since reunited. In particular, the influx of war refugees from Ukraine has led to an increased space requirement. According to social and integration senator Katja Kipping (left), around 60,000 Ukrainian refugees lived in Berlin in February 2022.

Another reason for the increase in rents is the discrepancy between building needs and the actual new building. According to the Office for Statistics Berlin-Brandenburg, almost 77,800 people moved to the capital in 2022, while only around 17,000 apartments were completed. The aim of the Berlin Senate is to build 20,000 apartments annually.

Despite the high rents in Berlin, the city remains comparatively cheap compared to Munich, Hamburg, London or Paris. Jutta Kreuzinger, spokeswoman for Berlin Hyp, emphasizes that the local comparative rent was 85 percent higher, according to the rent index in Munich than in Berlin.

However, the price increase threatens the social mix in Berlin. The favorable rents attracted decades of people with low incomes and alternative life plans. For a long time, Berlin was considered a socially mixed city due to its history of division. This meant that Berlin also attracted many people internationally. However, due to the increasingly scarce affordable living space, the social mixing of the city is increasingly in danger. Every year there are more apartments out of social binding than new social housing are built. The sale of state -owned apartments in the 2000s to large real estate companies such as Vonovia/Deutsche Wohnen also contributed to the fact that Berlin does not have a sufficient common good -oriented housing market.

The question is now whether Berlin will reach a price level such as Munich, London or Paris in the near future. Jutta Kreuzinger is confident that this will not be the case, since rental prices in Germany are slowed down by statutory measures and tenant protection is guaranteed. In Berlin, this is also reinforced by the designation of milieu protection areas. However, an increased new building is required.

Ulrike Hamann, managing director of the Berlin tenant association, sees the development critically. It warns of strong segregation tendencies in the next decades, if not clearly counter -controlled and invested in the common good -oriented sector in order to obtain permanently affordable living space.

Overall, it remains to be seen how rental prices and real estate prices in Berlin will develop in the coming years. However, the scarcity of living space and rising rents are a major challenge for the city to maintain social mixing and ensure affordable living space for all population groups.