Germany rental market: Munich leads, Cologne rises, Berlin drops

The second‑quarter 2026 Greix‑Mietpreisindex from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy shows divergent trends in Germany’s major cities. Munich remains the most expensive market with an average cold rent of €23.70 per square metre, far above the national weighted average of €14.30. Cologne posted the strongest increase, up 6.0% year‑on‑year, while Hamburg and Düsseldorf also recorded double‑digit gains of 5.1% and 4.1% respectively, well above the nationwide 3.0% rise.

Berlin was the only large city with a decline, its offered rents falling 0.8% year‑on‑year. Across the 37 cities surveyed, overall rents rose 0.8% quarter‑on‑quarter and 3.0% year‑on‑year, but after adjusting for inflation the real increase was only 0.3% – the second consecutive quarter of real rent contraction. Leipzig offered the lowest rents at €10.50 per square metre. The data also highlight a persistent gap between new‑construction rents (€19.00) and existing‑stock rents (€13.90).