Recent Release | 27 Jul 2023
The furnished rental housing market in Germany
Economic Consulting Team
Oxford Economics
The furnished housing market has long been perceived as an insignificant market segment. Our research shows that in 2022 about 14% of renters in Germany lived in furnished apartments. In addition, the market segment is growing. The share of listings for furnished apartments as a share of all rental apartment listings has risen by 45% between January 2013 and January 2022.
As furnished rental apartments also fall under the so-called German rental brake (“Mietpreisbremse”), the German Federal Ministry of Justice commissioned Oxford Economics to investigate the German furnished rental housing market and the application of the rental break. The regulation was supposed to slow the sharp rises in rents in Germany over the past decades due to tightened housing markets.
We find that:
- the furnished rental market is a relevant market segment in Germany,
- the market for renting out furnished apartments for temporary use has grown in particular,
- landlords did not systematically furnish their apartments to avoid the rental brake,
- proceedings that involve rent regulation of furnished apartments under the application of the rental break are quite rare, and
- exemptions from the rental brake as well as the calculation of the furnishing markup are not defined well enough to be correctly applied by market participants.
We even calculate the average furnishing markup using an econometric matching technique. According to our calculations, the average furnishing markup between 2007 and 2018 in the public listings database ranged between €3.53 per m² and €7.04 per m².
To read the full report in German, please click here.
To read the English executive summary, please fill out the form below.
The experts behind the research
Our economic consulting team are world leaders in quantitative economic analysis, working with clients around the globe and across sectors to build models, forecast markets and evaluate interventions using state-of-the art techniques. Lead consultants on this project were:
Johanna Neuhoff
Associate Director of Economic Consulting, Continental Europe
Jan Sun
Senior Economist, Economic Impact
Read the report
Complete the form below to download the report.
Related Services
Opposition win would secure much-needed EU funding
The Polish parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 15, are likely to be deeply consequential for domestic policy and relations with the EU.
Find Out More
Five reasons why European CRE isn’t out of the woods yet
Our view is that European commercial real estate (CRE) is not out of the woods yet, but things are looking better than before the summer.
Find Out More
The Australian hybrid work model looks here to stay with lasting impacts on office space demand
The shift to flexible ways of working and using office space was already underway prior to the pandemic with the advent of open plan offices, activity-based working, hot desking and co-working space.
Find Out More
Australian office and industrial property asset classes are upgrading
The major CBD Australian office markets are oversupplied, with double-digit vacancy rates that should be suppressing rental growth. However, historically high incentives are boosting the financial appeal for tenants to move into better quality space when their leases expire, even as stated rents rise in many locations.
Find Out More