Frankfurt/Main/Leipzig (dpa/sn) - The increase in residential rents accelerated in Saxony as well as in the other federal states in the third quarter. However, the increase in asking rents in Bavaria was the lowest nationwide at 4.1 percent in relation to the same quarter of the previous year. According to data from the German Economic Institute (IW), that was more than the average for the same quarter over the past three years (3.0 percent). Asking rents rose the most in Brandenburg (9.1 percent) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (10.3 percent). For Germany, the value is 5.8 percent.
"It shows that the momentum is increasing," said IW real estate expert Michael Voigtländer. People were increasingly looking for rental accommodation, while some landlords were charging higher rents, apparently because of high inflation. In addition, there are catch-up effects in rural regions that still offer comparatively cheap housing.
In the metropolises, there were relatively moderate increases in asking rents in Frankfurt (plus 1.4 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year), Stuttgart (2.4 percent) and Munich (3.5 percent). On the other hand, asking rents in Düsseldorf (5.9 percent), Leipzig (7.8 percent) and Berlin (8.3 percent) increased in particular. "In the very expensive cities, the growth is lower - probably due to a lack of solvency," said Voigtländer. After years of the real estate boom, rents in the major cities have already reached a very high level.
Higher lending rates, high construction prices and record inflation are making home ownership less affordable. Interest rates on ten-year real estate loans have more than tripled since the beginning of the year. Many people are therefore switching to the rental market. The shifting demand will increase the upward pressure on rents there, according to a recent study by Landesbank Helaba.
