Housing costs after a move: Berlin tops the ranking of the most expensive cities

A sharp rise in the rent burden when you move

If you move within Germany, expect considerably higher housing costs, especially in major cities. A recent analysis by the property owners' association Haus & Grund for 2024 points to worrying developments in the German apartment market.

The rent burden in Berlin

For families renting a new apartment after a move, Berlin is now the most expensive city in Germany. They have to spend more than 32 percent of their household income on net cold rent. For people living alone, the burden even reaches 41.9 percent, well above the 30 percent threshold at which housing is considered no longer affordable.

Ranking of the most expensive cities

For families (share of household income in 2024):

• Berlin: 32.3%
• Munich: 29.8%
• Frankfurt am Main: 28.1%
• Hamburg: 26.5%
• Cologne: 25.2%

For people living alone:

• Berlin: 41.9%
• Munich: 41.2%
• Offenbach am Main: 40.2%
• Frankfurt am Main: 38.2%
• Freiburg im Breisgau: 36.3%

The lock-in effect cements tenancies

The study identifies a problematic lock-in effect. Many tenants forgo a move they actually need because market rents are considerably higher than their current existing rents. This leads to:

• Falling relocation mobility
• A tighter supply of apartments
• The entrenchment of existing tenancies

The national average remains moderate

Nationwide, families have to spend 19.4 percent of their income on rent after a move, an increase of 1.5 percentage points since 2015. People living alone are at 26.3 percent (up 2 percentage points).

Extreme differences between city and countryside

While major cities record steep rent increases, rural regions remain affordable. The lowest rent burden, at 12.7 percent, was measured in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel district (Saxony-Anhalt) and in Greiz (Thuringia).

Listing rents rise more sharply than existing rents

The gap between existing rents and listing rents has widened significantly since 2015:

90 sqm apartment (typical for families):

• Existing rent: +35% since 2015
• Listing rent: +46% since 2015
• Berlin listing rent: +84% (from 749 euros to 1,379 euros)

50 sqm apartment (typical for people living alone):

• Existing rent: +30% since 2015
• Listing rent: +44% since 2015
• Berlin listing rent: +83% (from 423 euros to 776 euros)

Outlook and demands

The owners' association calls for more new housing construction and an end to rent controls. The German Tenants' Association (Deutscher Mieterbund), by contrast, warns that more than six million tenants are already overburdened and that the problem is increasingly reaching the middle class.

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Data basis: The analysis is based on the study "Bezahlbarkeit von Mieten 2025" (Affordability of Rents 2025) by the property owners' association Haus & Grund, published in Handelsblatt on 6 November 2025. The calculations refer to apartments listed online on common property portals and use regional net household incomes as their basis.