Rent for student housing across Germany has skyrocketed, survey shows
The cost of rent for students in Germany is getting more and more expensive.
According to a study released by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) on Monday, average prices for new student rentals particularly in big cities have increased significantly since 2010.
The largest percentage increase in net rental prices since 2010 was recorded in Berlin, where rent for student housing has risen by 70.2 percent. In the nation’s capital, students pay an average monthly rent of €430 and around €11 per square metre of living space; compared to other German cities they have seen the cost of rent shoot up significantly over the past several years.
READ ALSO: Berlin rents shot up by nearly 10 percent in two years: report
Berlin may have the largest increase in net rental prices, but Munich was found to be the German city with the most expensive average rent for a student flat at €665 per month and €18.4 per square metre. If this development continues, the rate is expected to soon exceed €20 per square metre. The Bavarian capital saw rent prices rise by 53.1 percent since 2010.
The second most expensive location for students according to the study was Stuttgart, with rent prices of €14.9 per square metre. Since 2010, the capital of Baden-Württemberg has seen a student housing cost boost of 62.2 percent.
Frankfurt came in third place for the most expensive German city for student accommodation with €14 per square metre while Hamburg and Heidelberg both tied in fourth place at €12 per square metre.
Rental costs also climbed sharply in Cologne (22.3 percent), Bonn (24.9 percent), Kiel (35.3 percent) and Leipzig (23.6 percent).
For a typical 30 square metre flat in Leipzig, students pay about €327 per month - less than half of what students in Munich pay for a flat of the same size. The east German university town of Jena had the smallest rise in rental costs at a percentage increase of 9.7.
So what is the reason behind these ever soaring costs?
The significant rent increases can be attributed not only to the growing shortage of living space in desirable locations, but also because “more and more rental apartments are being offered furnished, which drives up prices even further," said IW housing expert Michael Voigtländer.
The study moreover attributes challenges to the housing market in Germany as well as a rapid rise in rent costs to a steady increase in both student numbers and new residents who have come to the country.
The situation can only be eased by more new housing and additional student residences, Voigtländer said.
Research institute IW worked with apartment hunting website ImmobilienScout24 and the Deutsche Real Estate Funds (DREF) for the study in which 15 cities and university towns in Germany were analyzed from 2010 to 2017.
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According to a study released by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) on Monday, average prices for new student rentals particularly in big cities have increased significantly since 2010.
The largest percentage increase in net rental prices since 2010 was recorded in Berlin, where rent for student housing has risen by 70.2 percent. In the nation’s capital, students pay an average monthly rent of €430 and around €11 per square metre of living space; compared to other German cities they have seen the cost of rent shoot up significantly over the past several years.
READ ALSO: Berlin rents shot up by nearly 10 percent in two years: report
Berlin may have the largest increase in net rental prices, but Munich was found to be the German city with the most expensive average rent for a student flat at €665 per month and €18.4 per square metre. If this development continues, the rate is expected to soon exceed €20 per square metre. The Bavarian capital saw rent prices rise by 53.1 percent since 2010.
The second most expensive location for students according to the study was Stuttgart, with rent prices of €14.9 per square metre. Since 2010, the capital of Baden-Württemberg has seen a student housing cost boost of 62.2 percent.
Frankfurt came in third place for the most expensive German city for student accommodation with €14 per square metre while Hamburg and Heidelberg both tied in fourth place at €12 per square metre.
Rental costs also climbed sharply in Cologne (22.3 percent), Bonn (24.9 percent), Kiel (35.3 percent) and Leipzig (23.6 percent).
For a typical 30 square metre flat in Leipzig, students pay about €327 per month - less than half of what students in Munich pay for a flat of the same size. The east German university town of Jena had the smallest rise in rental costs at a percentage increase of 9.7.
So what is the reason behind these ever soaring costs?
The significant rent increases can be attributed not only to the growing shortage of living space in desirable locations, but also because “more and more rental apartments are being offered furnished, which drives up prices even further," said IW housing expert Michael Voigtländer.
The study moreover attributes challenges to the housing market in Germany as well as a rapid rise in rent costs to a steady increase in both student numbers and new residents who have come to the country.
The situation can only be eased by more new housing and additional student residences, Voigtländer said.
Research institute IW worked with apartment hunting website ImmobilienScout24 and the Deutsche Real Estate Funds (DREF) for the study in which 15 cities and university towns in Germany were analyzed from 2010 to 2017.
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