Finding a rental apartment with three or four rooms in Berlin? No problem for top earners. In May 2026, a major rental platform is listing a unit of just over 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) for just over €4,000 ($4,680) per month, including heating and other additional costs. The lowest offer is just under €1,000 for 80 square meters — but that unit requires renovations and is located on the outskirts of the city.
Renters are currently finding it almost impossible to find an attractive and affordable apartment in a good location in large parts of Germany. This is especially true both in metropolitan areas and in economically strong rural regions.
Across the nation, there's a shortage of around 1.4 million apartments in the lower and middle price ranges, and this limited availability, combined with high demand, is driving prices up.
Germany: A nation of renters
In 2025, Germany's population stood at around 83.5 million. Since 1990, it has grown by 3.7 million — a rise driven almost entirely by immigration. At the same time, the number of single-person households has increased. Yet the housing supply has not kept pace with these developments.
