Buying a house just got cheaper in 13 German cities. But with prices still unaffordable and rents continuing to rise, only 6 percent are planning to buy a property in 2023.

House ownership out of reach for many Germans

A recent representative survey conducted by the BHW Bausparkasse, a German bank providing mortgage loans, has revealed that only 6 percent of the population intend to buy a house in Germany over the coming year.

The statistic reveals a 50 percent decrease in comparison to the number of prospective buyers 10 years previously. Although house prices are sinking in a number of areas, they remain unaffordable for many due to the already high starting point. Another recent survey by property company Immowelt found that families in German cities must earn 5.000 euros before tax to be able to afford a home. 

Rent increases in German cities are spreading out to surrounding towns and suburbs, which means that many single people and families can no longer afford to save to buy a property. This trend was recognised by Germany’s Bundesbank in the fourth quarter of 2023, when the number of people applying for mortgages and housing loans fell more sharply than during any period since 2003

To put the rising prices of the last two years into perspective, Managing Director of the Association for Bond Banks Jens Tolckmitt pointed out in the company’s recent property index that even if property prices were to sink by 15 percent they would be “at the price level of the beginning of 2020”. 

Germany still dreaming of detached domesticity

While single people and families are priced out of buying a house and paying through the nose to rent, many would still snap up a picture-perfect detached family house in a world where they could afford to do so.

It is still a detached property which occupies the imaginations of half of Germans. In reality, this is “by far the most expensive and least sustainable option,” Henning Göbel, head of the BHW told Süddeutsche Zeitung. In contrast, only a respective 5 and 6 percent would like to live in terraced or semi-detached properties, despite those types of houses being significantly cheaper.

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