Stuttgart unseats Munich as Germany’s most expensive city for renters

Stuttgart has overtaken Munich as the most expensive German metropolis for renters, an analysis of German rental prices released Thursday showed. 

An average 65-square-meter (700-square-feet) apartment in an average Stuttgart neighborhood rents for €10.41 ($11.50) per square meter in 2019, excluding utilities. In Munich, renters pay an average of €9.74 per square meter.

A national average of €7.04 per square meter means that rental prices in the southern German city are 48% above the national average.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  City of palaces

  The Kings of Württemberg once ruled in Stuttgart, and the many palaces in the area bear witness to this time. The New Palace is in the city center, and during summer the square is a popular hangout for locals and tourists alike. The building is now used by the State Ministries of Finance and Education.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Cars, cars and more cars

  Stuttgart is a top destination for car fanatics. Although subject to opinion, it’s widely accepted that the first automobile was invented by Karl Benz in Stuttgart in 1886. Visitors can learn about the inception and development of the car in the Mercedes Benz museum, and the Porsche museum takes guests on a journey through the history of their own brand.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Weissenhof Estate

  A feat of architecture are the buildings of Stuttgart’s Weissenhof Estate. They were designed by the famous architects Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1927 as an exhibition on modern living. Both buildings by Le Corbusier (pictured) were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2016, together with several of his other works in seven different countries.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Take to the stage

  Stuttgart’s theaters have something for everyone. There are six large, private theaters, around 20 smaller establishments and the multiple award-winning Stuttgart State Theater with opera, ballet and drama productions. There are 700 shows to choose from every month in Stuttgart.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Museums and galleries

  There are 11 large museums plus 30 smaller exhibition buildings and special collections. The Schweine Museum, for example, is about the art and cultural history of the pig. Among the classics is the Staatsgalerie with paintings and sculptures from the 14th to the 21st century. The architecture is a wonder in itself – a post-modern building combined with traditional building elements.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  City life among the vineyards

  Stuttgart lies in a valley surrounded by vineyards. The winemaking industry has more presence here than in any other big German city, and a number of hiking trails take visitors through the vineyards. The tradition dates back 1000 years, and the wine-growing museum (Weinbaumuseum) provides information about the history.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Swabian cuisine

  A drop of Swabian wine goes hand in hand with some hearty Swabian food. Maultaschen, for example, are pasta pockets filled with mince, veal, spinach and parsley. Visitors can sample Swabian cuisine in one of Stuttgart’s many restaurants or in a “Besenwirtschaft” – traditional Swabian wine taverns that operate without a license for a maximum of four months a year.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Stuttgart Market Hall

  The ingredients for a traditional Swabian meal can be found in all their forms at Stuttgart Markthalle. Even the most discerning foodies will be in their element here, and top chefs also come to buy their produce. It’s worth a visit just to see the Art Nouveau architecture, that’s now listed as a historical monument.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Cannstatter Wasen Festival

  The people of Stuttgart certainly know how to eat and drink… and party! Cannstatter Wasen is a huge festival with tents, stalls and fairground rides. It takes place twice a year in spring and fall, and attracts several million visitors every year.

• 10 reasons to visit Stuttgart

  Stuttgart’s landmark

  The best place to view this “Swabian paradise” is from the TV tower. It soars 217 meters above the houses and vineyards, and on a good day you can see the mountains of the Swabian Jura. Looking out from the tower at sunset, it’s easy to understand why many people still see Stuttgart as paradise on Earth.

  Author: Elisabeth Yorck von Wartenburg (nr)

Places where rents are below the national average include the eastern cities of Erfurt, Potsdam, Dresden, the eastern side of Berlin and the northern city Schwerin. Rent in the western half of Berlin costs €7.32 per square meter, just slightly above the national average. 

This is according to data from a newly released “Mietspiegel.” or “rent index,” which reflects the average price of residential rental property in cities across Germany.

The study, carried out by German market research company F+B, analyzed the average cost of renting in 351 German cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants.

Prices soar in the suburbs

While Stuttgart now ranks as the most expensive German city for renters, for the second year in a row the prize for the highest rent in the country goes to a small suburb outside of Munich.

In the town of Karlsfeld, population 22,000, the same 65-square-meter apartment rents for €10.86 per square meter in 2019, 54% above the national average.

Read more:A tale of two cities’ housing crises: Dublin and Berlin

Germany has seen rental prices in small suburbs overtake rates in city centers. Four of the cities in the top 10 list are suburbs of Stuttgart; another four are suburbs of Munich.

“We see that the old rule that if you want to live cheaply, move to the suburbs, is no longer necessarily true,” the study’s authors explained.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Rental barracks

  Berlin’s endless rows of tenements were once horribly overcrowded, with large families often living in one- or two-room flats. But in recent years, these so-called Altbau, or old buildings, have enjoyed a rapid renaissance. These blocks in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin were, until the early 1990s, often empty and in a state of severe disrepair. Now everyone wants to rent an Altbau.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Plattenbau

  In former East Germany, where nearly all accommodation was rented from the government, prefab concrete housing blocks known as Plattenbau rose up across the communist nation. Not only were they cheap, but they were often preferred to Altbau apartments because they offered all modern conveniences like new plumbing that didn’t leak, reliable electricity and hot water.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Balconies

  According to the most recent statistics from Statista (2015), 48 percent of Germans rent and 52 percent are home-owners. Most renters live in apartments – and make the most of their balconies. Some barbeque or lounge, while others grow overflowing gardens that utilize every last inch of precious outdoor space. Balconies can be veritable ecosystems that become rather bleak in the winter months.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Courtyards

  In some Germans cities, particularly Berlin, rental houses are made up of front and back buildings separated by an inner courtyard through which the life of these rental communities ebb and flow. They are unique communal spaces across which people view each other’s lives, and where they interact as they park their bicycles or access their numerous garbage bins.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Names instead of numbers

  Only the names of residents are used to identify the flats inside a building in Germany. These names on the intercom of a Hamburg apartment building typically have no corresponding flat number. That means you have to address letters to Germany clearly because the mail carrier only has the name to go by.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Flat sharing

  Known as WGs, or Wohngemeinschaften, shared apartments are popular in big cities where apartment prices are rising and availability is shrinking. People who share flats often also rent out the living area to bring prices down as much as possible. This is especially so in Berlin, a city full of artists, students and people on low budgets.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Paint when you leave

  Painting the apartment before you leave is another German rental tradition. Leaving the walls shiny white for the next residents isn’t such a bad thing – but it means you have to spend days preparing walls and climbing ladders before you move out. Not all rental contracts force tenants to paint the apartment – however they are obliged to leave it as they found it.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  BYO kitchen

  In some German cities, kitchens and appliances are not included in rental properties. That means the tenant has to purchase their own and have it installed at their expense. Alternatively, some people buy the previous tenant’s kitchen at a discount if they aren’t planning on taking it with them to their next living space.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Small bathrooms in old rental buildings

  Among the quirks of Altbau apartments is that many didn’t use to include facilities, which were sometimes shared communally. That means that you’ll find bathrooms today that are wedged into the smallest – and oddest – spaces. Or, in some cases, they might be huge and replace an entire former room. This shower in a Berlin flat was built in the kitchen cupboard.

• What to know before renting an apartment in Germany

  Not all rooms are bedrooms

  When scanning apartment listings in Germany, you’ll generally find the sizes given in square meters and the number of rooms. The latter includes not just bedrooms, but also living space. The kitchen and bathroom(s) are listed separately. Apartments are most expensive in Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, where new tentants pay on average 16.55, 13.37 and 12.95 euros per square meter respectively.

  Author: Stuart Braun

Climbing rent slows down

Munich held the title of Germany’s most expensive city for renters for 20 years before it was unseated by Karlsfeld last year. This year the city has fallen to 6th place while Stuttgart now ranks 2nd overall and first among the large cities.  

The study also reveals that rent prices are rising at a slower rate than in the past. Rents rose 1.8% on average since last year, down from a rate of 2.2% the year before. The authors of the study point to various reasons for the slowdown, including the possibility that rent prices had become prohibitively expensive.

Read more: Housekeeping in Germany: ‘You clean up my mess and I pay you for it!’

Rent indexes in Germany influence the prices laid out in new rental contracts as well as landlord and government decisions to raise or lower rental rates.

However, actual rent paid can vary wildly within cities, meaning the average price reflected in the index may not be representative of the reality on the ground. 

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