BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - As a result of the high influx to Berlin with a decreasing supply of housing, asking rents in the capital rose significantly again last year. According to the latest Berlin Residential Market Report presented by the bank Berlin Hyp and the real estate agency CBRE on Wednesday, the average asking rent per square meter across all market segments was €13.60 in 2023. According to the report, the advertised price per square meter rose by 18.3 percent compared to the previous year. This was the strongest increase in a comparison of the seven largest cities in Germany. In popular districts such as Kreuzberg or Neukolln, asking rents even increased by almost a quarter, according to the report.

The final rental agreements concluded may differ from the prices on offer. Nevertheless, the rental market in Berlin remains extremely tight. "The high and still growing demand meets sluggish new construction," the report states. "Living space cannot be made available to the desired extent." After the coronavirus crisis, the influx of people into the capital has increased significantly again. Numerous war refugees have come to Berlin, particularly as a result of the war in Ukraine due to the situation in north-eastern Germany. A considerable number of these people are staying there, the authors of the report write.

In contrast, purchase prices for residential property fell last year. Across all market segments, prices per square meter fell by an average of 1.4 percent to 5750 euros per square meter in the offers surveyed. One reason for this was the decline in demand due to the high interest rates for purchase loans./maa/DP/nas