In Berlin, housing costs for new contracts have fallen for the first time, while existing rents have remained almost the same. But in Brandenburg they rose sharply in some cases! BZ shows what living really costs.
By Michael Sauerbier and Emma Neugebauer
A 60 square meter apartment in Marzahn-Hellersdorf costs an average of 342 euros net cold. The prefab district in the north-east has by far the cheapest rents in the city: only 5.71 euros per square meter, according to the housing association BBU.
The highest rents are paid in Steglitz-Zehlendorf at EUR 7.09: 60 square meters here cost EUR 425 cold. In addition, there are additional costs (heating, etc.) of around 30 percent, independent of the district. This means that the average Berlin apartment (60 m2) costs 551 euros warm.
Amazing: from the end of 2019 to mid-2021, existing rents across the city rose by only 1.1 percent. Although the protective but unlawful rent cap was dropped last April. In the case of new rentals, the costs even fell by 3 percent to 7.66 euros. Although they weren’t capped.
“Many landlords have refrained from an increase to maintain social peace,” says BBU boss Maren Kern.
But not in Brandenburg. Here, rents for new contracts rose by an average of 4.4 percent to EUR 6.13 cold. Existing rents increased by 1.9 percent to EUR 5.41.
With big regional differences: a square meter costs just 4.43 euros in Jüterbog and 6.97 euros in Wildau. For new contracts even 8.64 euros.
The Tesla car factory with thousands of well-paid jobs is driving up rents all around: In nearby Erkner (plus 6.7%) and in Fürstenwalde (plus 3.3%) they rose above average.
However, Wittenberge reports the biggest price boom with the only ICE stop between Hamburg and Berlin: plus 9.9 percent!
“Rents will continue to rise,” says BBU boss Kern, “because construction and energy prices have risen sharply. We can’t contain that at all.”