Frankfurt am Main is growing – as a stable business location, internationally important financial centre and European transportation hub. The largest city in Hesse attracts numerous young workers, older financially strong couples, but also foreign customers. For several years now, Frankfurt am Main has been one of the cities in Germany with the highest population growth. Since 2014, the number of inhabitants has risen by 7.1 per cent to almost 760,000. Given their economic importance, mass migration and associated housing demand are unlikely to decline in the foreseeable future.
Frankfurt am Main is also one of the nationwide leaders when it comes to vacancy rates for residential properties. The Main metropolis has a vacancy rate of only 0. 3 per cent, which is ahead of the already low figures in Stuttgart (0. 5 %), Hamburg (0. 5 %) and Berlin (0. 8 %). The continuing excess demand for housing in Frankfurt am Main has led to a steady rise in the average rent in the Main metropolis for years. However, a distinction must be made here between existing and newly created residential properties, as new buildings, in particular, have recently registered a significant increase in value. Tenants of a new building paid an average rent of 16. 72 euros per square metre of living space in the second quarter of 2020. Over the past five years, the rent for new buildings increased by +12. 9 %. In addition to rent, the offer prices for condominiums in Frankfurt am Main have been rising steadily for years. This means that the Main metropolis now has the second-highest price level in Germany in this sub-market. Real estate prices in Frankfurt am Main also increased in the market for single and two-family homes. In the second quarter of 2020, the average offer price was EUR 999,008, which corresponds to an increase of +27. 5 % compared to 2015.
In the outskirts of Frankfurt, condominiums are cheaper than in the city. The price differences are sometimes striking. While in Hofheim, Königstein, Bad Soden, Oberursel, Bad Vilbel and Rosbach v. d. Höhe is almost at the Frankfurt price level, there are even districts where average prices are below €2,000 per square metre. Many people decide to look for property outside of the city because the traffic by car is at the same time in the inner city.
In Frankfurt am Main, multi-family houses dominate, accounting for more than half of all buildings in the city. Luxurious high-rise residential dreams based on the model of New York have been created on the site of the former freight station in the city centre in recent years.
Frankfurt as a stable business location is in high demand both nationally and internationally. The trend toward living in the city is unbroken, as shown by the success of the apartments placed on the market in the residential towers currently under construction. Apart from this, detached single-family houses in top locations achieve top prices. The demand for large apartments with their own garden is also unbroken.
This article was written by Stephanie Fries who was a German apprentice interning at Irish Mortgage Brokers in April 2022