• Rents in Berlin are no longer rising as rapidly as in previous years
  • However, new construction is not keeping pace with population growth
  • There are significant differences between districts

The good news: the peak seems to have been reached for now. Asking rents in Berlin are hardly rising anymore. This is shown by the 2026 housing market report by Berlin Hyp  and the real estate company CBRE. According to the report, rents increased by just 0.1 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year. Anyone renting an apartment in Berlin had to expect an average rent of 15.80 euros per square meter. However, there are clear differences between districts. Lichtenberg stands out in the statistics: here, asking rents fell by a substantial 11.8 percent compared to 2024. By contrast, they still rose by 7.6 percent in Tempelhof-Schöneberg.

However, the sharp price increases of recent years appear to have stalled for the time being. From 2023 to 2024, asking rents still rose by 16 percent. From 2022 to 2023, they rose by more than 18 percent across Berlin. This has pushed Berlin into fourth place among the seven most populous cities in Germany. Only Munich (22.60 euros), Frankfurt am Main (17.20 euros), and Stuttgart (15.87 euros) have higher asking rents than the capital. There are hardly any vacant apartments left in Berlin.

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For the study, the authors of the housing market report evaluated 40,000 rental listings, around 33,900 sales listings, and 214 new construction projects comprising approximately 44,890 apartments in Berlin.

A stabilization of asking rents is now being observed, says Michael Schlatterer, Managing Director at CBRE Germany. However: “Structurally, the severe housing shortage in Berlin remains.” Another noticeable trend is that more and more apartments are being rented furnished or for a limited period. This was already shown in a study commissioned last year by the Berlin Tenants’ Association.

According to that study, Berlin is rapidly losing affordable housing to furnished short-term rentals. Furnished apartments often cost twice as much as unfurnished ones. This is confirmed by the 2024 housing market report of the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB).

Berlin’s population continues to grow, new construction cannot keep up

However, rents in Berlin cannot rise indefinitely. According to the housing market report, this is evident in the upper market segment. Particularly expensive rental apartments became on average 2.9 percent cheaper last year.

But this is by no means an all-clear signal. Berlin continues to grow: since 2010, the population has increased by more than half a million according to the population register and now stands at just under 3.9 million people. This corresponds to an increase of almost 16 percent. Here too, there are considerable differences between districts. The population in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (–706) and Reinickendorf (–2,343), for example, declined last year, while the other ten districts grew. The strongest increase was in Treptow-Köpenick, where the population rose by 5,450. At the same time, around 3,700 apartments were newly built in Berlin’s largest district by area.

This makes the district a prime example of a problem affecting the entire city: new construction is not keeping up. Since 2010, around 159,000 new apartments have been built in Berlin according to Berlin Hyp, while approximately 27,000 units have been completed or replaced within existing housing stock.

The Berlin Senate assumes that the city’s population will continue to grow by more than 100,000 people by 2040. According to the housing market report, around 222,000 additional apartments will be needed by then. But they are still a long way off — at least for now.

New construction in Berlin: where most apartments are being built

According to Berlin Hyp, in 2025 there were 214 projects with around 44,890 apartments in advanced planning, development, or already under construction — a slight increase compared with the previous year (43,530). Most of these apartments are being built in outer districts. Only 12.7 percent of new apartments are being constructed within the S-Bahn ring.

“To ease the strained housing market and limit growing social tensions, Berlin urgently needs additional housing,” emphasizes Sascha Klaus, CEO of Berlin Hyp. The Berlin Fast-Track Construction Act, the federal government’s construction push, and type E buildings are important and appropriate milestones, according to Klaus. However, it will take time before the effects of these legislative changes become noticeable.

But even if new construction falls short of targets, there is some good news. The number of projects involving the city’s seven state-owned housing companies has slightly increased to 84 (2024: 68). These companies are known to primarily build affordable housing.

This article was originally written and published on the 26th of March in German. It was translated in English with the use of Artificial Intelligence.