The real estate platform ImmoScout24 announced on Monday that asking prices in four out of eight major cities are already above the previous year's level. "Compared to the previous year, interest in buying property has risen considerably - in the major cities by as much as 49 percent," explained ImmoScout24 Managing Director Gesa Crockford. The excess supply on the purchase market is decreasing. "We therefore assume that purchase prices will rise in the future." In the first quarter of 2024, the average asking price for existing apartments for sale across Germany rose by 0.6% quarter-on-quarter to EUR 2490 per square meter. However, this means that prices are still 2.5% lower than a year ago.

On the rental market, the analysis shows weaker price momentum, but still high demand pressure, according to the report. "Rental prices will continue to rise," said Immoscout24 expert Kristian Kehlert. "Too little is being built."

On average, existing apartments were 1.7 percent more expensive for new rentals at the beginning of the year than in the previous quarter. According to the figures, the price trend for new-build apartments was up 1.6 percent. The average basic rent for a two-room apartment with 70 square meters in existing properties is therefore EUR 599 and EUR 833 for new builds.

(Report by Klaus Lauer; edited by Ralf Banser - If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)).