Berlin Apartment Market Q1 2026

Market Cycle and Inflection Points

Through the 2000s, Berlin's apartment market was in a phase of stagnation; prices and volumes moved sideways. From 2010, a market reordering set in, initiating a phase of significant price growth. Berlin moved increasingly into the focus of international investors. Catch-up effects, low purchase prices and declining interest rates became central drivers. Until 2022, market dynamics remained high across all sectors, supported by favourable financing conditions, sustained demand and high liquidity. In the resale segment, purchase prices rose by an average of 8.9 % per year between 2011 and 2026.

In 2021, inflation in Germany rose from 0.5% (2020) to 3.1%, the highest level since 1993. Against the backdrop of still-low interest rates and growing demand for tangible assets, a short-term overheating occurred. With the ECB's rate turn from 2022, the market weakened markedly. Rising financing costs dampened demand first and prices subsequently, producing a structural break. The corrections peaked in 2023. By the end of 2024 they eased, before the market moved into a sideways pattern with locally differentiated developments in 2025.

Resale Market

Resale apartments in Berlin are currently notarised at an average of €5,290 per sqm. This represents a change of €310 per sqm, or 6.0 %, against 2024.

Over fifteen years, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) stands at 8.9 %. Over ten years, and notwithstanding interim corrections, the figure comes in at 8.6 %.

The highest average transaction prices are currently recorded in Mitte (€7,080 per sqm), followed by Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (€5,790 per sqm) and Pankow (€5,670 per sqm). The lowest averages are observed in Marzahn-Hellersdorf at €3,220 per sqm, Spandau (€3,340 per sqm) and Reinickendorf (€3,910 per sqm).

At district level, the picture is more differentiated. Mitte (27.0 %) and Alt-Treptow (20.0 %) post strong gains, as do Wannsee (20.0 %) and Hermsdorf (16.0 %). Classic West Berlin locations such as Charlottenburg (-1.0 %), Wilmersdorf (2.0 %) and Steglitz (-1.0 %) sit around the zero line.

Buyer's Market or Seller's Market?

Two metrics indicate whether Berlin's apartment market has shifted from a seller's to a buyer's market: the spread between listing and transaction prices, and the absorption rate, i.e. the ratio of listings to notarised sales. The average price difference between listing and transaction in Berlin currently stands at around 9 %, or €450 per sqm. The widest spread was recorded in 2015 at 29 %. In the years since, the gap between listing and sale prices has narrowed.

In 2025, Berlin recorded 12,516 resale transactions, up 10 % on the previous year (2024: 11,365). Transaction volumes have risen since the 2023 trough, with slowing momentum.

In 2025, approximately 29,023 resale apartments were listed on the main portals — -7 % fewer than in the previous year. This reverses the trend of prior years: while supply grew markedly faster than demand in 2023 and 2024, in 2025 transaction growth (10 %) exceeds listing growth for the first time. The market is tightening.

Price Formation

The per-square-metre price in the resale segment arises from the interplay of several factors. Alongside location, availability, construction period and condition play material roles. The total transaction value is also relevant for baseline affordability. The following sections show how these factors affect the price level and where the largest differences lie.

Apartment Size

Rising apartment prices affect affordability and, in the long term, the size of apartments transacted. In 2010, the average living area of sold resale apartments stood at 74 per sqm. In 2025, the figure was 70 per sqm. The average transaction price rose in the same period from €109,200 to €371,900.

Location and Micro-Location

Price ranges within boroughs vary noticeably, reflecting differences in locational quality. In boroughs whose districts diverge in character, the ranges are correspondingly wider. In the Mitte district, the price level sits at around €9,360 per sqm, while in the Wedding district it reaches approximately €4,060 per sqm. Both districts belong to the Mitte borough. Similar patterns are visible in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Outer boroughs such as Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Lichtenberg display the narrowest ranges.

Availability — Vacant or Tenanted

The achievable purchase price depends substantially on availability status. Vacant apartments command the highest prices, while tenanted units trade as investment properties in which in-place rent determines yield and price. The share of vacant apartments has risen over time. The tenanted share has declined since 2019 — investors were more active in the preceding low-rate phase.

Construction Periods

An apartment's construction period shapes not only layout and structural substance but also market price expectations. Classic Altbau and newer new-builds typically achieve the highest per-square-metre prices, while post-war buildings and prefabricated panel stock (Plattenbauten) trade at markedly lower levels. The distribution of transactions by construction period shows which segments dominate.

Classic Altbau dominates transaction flow. Apartments in the pre-1918 construction period account for the largest share, followed by post-war buildings. More recent construction years are noticeably rarer — a reflection of Berlin's historically grown stock structure.

Investment Perspective

The structural fundamentals of Berlin's apartment market remain intact. According to the 2022 Census, the vacancy rate stands at 2.0% — markedly below the fluctuation reserve required for a functioning market. At the same time, new construction is declining: net additions amounted to 15,362 apartments apartments in 2024, after 17,310 apartments in 2022. The persistent demand overhang underpins rent development and supports long-term value retention in resale investments. Over ten years, Berlin's resale market achieves a CAGR of 8.6 % — even including the 2022/23 price correction, the five-year figure stands at 4.0 %.

The strongest long-term capital appreciation came not from established residential areas but from districts with lower starting levels: Spandau at a CAGR of 9.0 %, Lichtenberg at 10.7 % and Hellersdorf at 10.8 %. For comparison: Charlottenburg stands at 7.0 %, Wilmersdorf at 7.1 %.

Market dynamics also differ by location. In Lichtenberg, 535 resale apartments are offered for sale against 381 transactions in the same period. Supply and demand are close to equilibrium here. In Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, 5,739 listings correspond to 2,035 transactions — buyers have more choice, sellers face more competition.

Based on 2022 Census in-place rents and current transaction prices, computed gross yields stand at around 2.5% in Spandau and southern Neukölln, compared with below 1.5% in Mitte. The combination of structural supply scarcity, above-average long-term CAGR and differentiated yield profiles defines Berlin as a measurable investment location, with levers at district level.

New-Build Apartment Market

Buyers currently pay an average of €8,200 per sqm for new-build apartments in Berlin — approximately 3.0 %, or €220 per sqm, more than in the prior-year period.

Over ten years, average annual price growth has been approximately 8.0 %. In 2015, the average per-square-metre price stood at €3,810 per sqm — a delta of 115.0 % against today's new-build level.

In volume terms, the new-build purchase market in Berlin is effectively frozen. According to the Statistics Office, a total of 15,362 apartments apartments were completed in Berlin in 2024, of which 1,460 were sold as condominium units — a share of around 10 percent. In 2015, the share stood at 67.5 percent, during an active market phase with high turnover velocity. The owner-occupier share of new-build volume has structurally declined. Nearly all completions flow into holder portfolios or go directly into the rental market.

At the same time, total completions have remained relatively constant at an average of 15,660 apartments per year from 2015 to 2024. Figures for 2025 are not yet available.

Notable: the average apartment size has been declining continuously, from 95 m² in 2015 to just under 70 m² (rental segment) in 2024. In the purchase market, Berlin new-build condominium units are somewhat larger, with an average living area of 71 per sqm.

Rental Market

The average rental listing price for resale apartments in Berlin stands at €18 per sqm, net cold. In the new-build segment, €23 per sqm is asked. Year-on-year, resale rents have risen by €1.00 per sqm; new-build rents have declined by -€3.00 per sqm. The trend since 2015 shows a continuous increase: from €9 per sqm (2015) through €11 per sqm (2020) to €18 per sqm (2025) — a doubling within a decade.

Listing rents include furnished and fixed-term offerings, which tend to show higher per-square-metre prices; their share of total supply is difficult to quantify precisely.

Comparing listing rents with Census rents illustrates the structural gap between market prices and realised rent levels in Berlin. The 2022 Census average in-place rent stood at €7.8 per sqm — less than half the current listing rent of €18 per sqm. Across all boroughs, listing rents stand markedly above average in-place rents. The multiple ranges from approximately 1.5 to over 2.5, depending on location.

The gap is most pronounced in inner-city boroughs such as Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Mitte and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Here, high new-letting rents meet comparatively homogeneous in-place rents. In outer boroughs, the absolute gap is smaller but remains structurally relevant. Even in boroughs with lower rent levels such as Marzahn-Hellersdorf or Spandau, listing rents stand markedly above Census values.

* Listings ** Census 2022

Social Housing

According to the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistics Office, Berlin building authorities approved 14,079 apartments in 2025, up from 9,772 in 2024 (+44.1%). In social housing, the Senate approved around 5,200 apartments with a funding volume of approximately €1.3 billion. Eighty percent will be built by state-owned housing companies. Most subsidised apartments target middle incomes with entry-level rents of €11.50 per square metre. At the end of 2023, Berlin held just under 100,000 social housing units, down from 105,000 the year before. Around 5,000 apartments exit subsidy each year.

Housing Shortage at the Core

Berlin's apartment market has been structurally undersupplied for many years. The 2024 Urban Development Plan Housing (Stadtentwicklungsplan Wohnen) quantifies total housing demand from 2022 to 2040 at 272,000 apartments. The figure comprises a demographic additional demand of 85,000 units from in-migration, a relief demand of 137,000 apartments to establish a fluctuation reserve of around three percent, and a strategic land reserve of 50,000 units for exceptional developments and crises. The plan itself makes no forecasts on future rent or price developments. Nevertheless, conclusions about potential market effects can be drawn from supply conditions and the spatial distribution of new construction. In inner-city locations, new-build potential is limited — additional living space arises predominantly through densification or conversion. While new quarters on the urban fringe add supply, established locations remain tight.

Outlook

Berlin's resale apartment market has completed the correction phase following the rate turn. After price declines of -5.0 % (2023) and -3.0 % (2024), per-square-metre prices rose for the first time in 2025 — to €5,290 per sqm, an increase of 6.0 %. The gap to the 2022 peak (€5,360 per sqm) now stands at approximately one percent.

2026 also brings potential regulatory developments for Berlin's apartment market. In tenancy law, the Federal Minister of Justice submitted a draft bill in early February extending the rent cap (Mietpreisbremse) to furnished apartments, limiting index-linked rent increases and introducing transparency requirements for furnishing surcharges. At the same time, the Heating Act is being restructured into a Building Modernisation Act — the 65-percent renewables rule has been dropped; instead, the government is pursuing technology neutrality. For portfolio holders, this considerably reduces uncertainty around energy retrofits.

The ECB has held the deposit rate at 2.0% since mid-2025; construction financing rates are moving around +/- 3.6%. Whether that level holds is one of the variables for the purchase market — the conservative assumption is a stable rate environment.

On 20 September, Berlin will elect a new state parliament (Abgeordnetenhaus). Housing policy has historically been one of the defining campaign themes — from rent regulation and pre-emption rights to the condominium conversion ban.

And from this year, converted apartments gradually return to the open market: 12,507 in 2026, 19,386 in 2027, 28,598 in 2028.

2026 remains an eventful year for Berlin's property market. We continue to monitor developments and provide context.

Methodology

The analysis is based on transaction, listing and structural data from official and private sources. Central data foundations include the Berlin Committee of Valuation Experts (Gutachterausschuss für Grundstückswerte in Berlin), listing data from IMV GmbH, the Census, and publications by Investitionsbank Berlin and the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistics Office.

The analysis covers, among other indicators, purchase prices, listing levels, market activity, housing stock, vacancy, rent levels, population development and construction activity. Data is harmonised, plausibility-checked and analysed in differentiated form at borough and district level.

Interpretation is data-driven and complemented by our market experience. Divergences between listing and transaction data are inherent to the system and are accounted for in the analysis.

The results represent a model-based analysis and do not replace official statistics. Despite careful preparation, deviations cannot be entirely ruled out.