BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Monthly cold rent now eats up more than a third of average income in many neighborhoods of Germany's seven largest cities. The largest disparity between net income and rental costs is in Berlin, according to an analysis published Saturday by data service provider 21st Real Estate.

According to the analysis, in the capital, on the one hand, the cold rents charged are high and, on the other hand, average incomes are relatively low. The company - which is based in Berlin - puts the average cost ratio for the entire city at 32 percent.

The analysis is based on the one hand on the evaluation of 271,000 housing advertisements published online, and on the other hand on income calculations broken down by "micro-locations" in streets and neighborhoods. This was based on income data from the market research institute GfK. Asking rents are not signed leases, but few landlords are agreeing to discounts in the face of a huge rush for scarce housing.

"For newcomers with medium or low incomes, the search for housing in the seven A-cities is becoming a real ordeal," commented Heike Günding, head of the company.

The decisive factor for the evaluation by 21st Real Estate was not the absolute level of rent, but the relationship to income: If only millionaires lived in a street, the rental cost ratio would be relatively low, even for very expensive apartments.

Berlin and Munich lead the field in terms of rental cost ratio

As a result, Berlin's rental cost ratio of 32 percent in the data analysis is just as high as Munich's, although rents in the Bavarian capital remain more expensive on average. However, according to 21st Real Estate, in the particularly expensive micro-locations with a rental cost ratio of over 35 percent, the average income is also considerably higher than in Germany's largest city, at 57,259 euros annually. In Berlin, the average annual income in the corresponding neighborhoods is only 40,255 euros.

In third place in the analysis comes Stuttgart with a rental cost ratio of 29 percent, ahead of Frankfurt with 27 percent. The cheapest of the metropolises are Koln with 26 percent and Düsseldorf and Hamburg with 25 percent each.

Even in these cities, however, according to the calculations of the Berlin-based company, there are many neighborhoods in which the rental cost ratio is in some cases well over 30 percent. In Hamburg, for example, the rent in almost all streets north of the Elbe in the districts of Mitte and Nord devours over 37.5 percent of the average income there.

According to 21st Real Estate, the rent burden is still significantly lower in the surrounding areas of the major cities. Near Düsseldorf, Duisburg, for example, is particularly favorable, with a rental cost ratio of just 13.4 percent.

What will happen to rents in the future?

There is no relief in sight for rents - on the contrary. TAG Immobilien, for example, has already announced further rent increases. However, these should not exceed a certain limit, because TAG's apartments are located in cities where there are vacancies, CFO Martin Thiel told the financial news agency dpa-AFX.

The Hamburg-based residential real estate group, with its most recent portfolio of around 85,700 properties in Germany, concentrates on so-called B and C locations - i.e. in wider catchment areas of metropolitan areas and in medium-sized cities. Most of the residential properties are located in eastern Germany in cities such as Gera, Leipzig, Chemnitz, Erfurt and in the Berlin area.

Tenants of the real estate group LEG must also expect higher rents. These would "increase significantly," company CEO Lars von Lackum told dpa-AFX. In view of rising material costs and salaries, no sustainable, climate-friendly product could be offered for 6.52 euros per square meter. That's why LEG wants to increase rents "as much as possible from a regulatory point of view," the manager said. LEG rents out around 167,000 apartments in Germany, mainly in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in other German states./cho/DP/zb