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Munich in the housing crisis: 200,000 new units needed by 2045!
Find out how the Schwabing-West district is dealing with rising rents and growing housing needs - current developments for 2025.
Munich in the housing crisis: 200,000 new units needed by 2045!
The housing situation in Munich remains tense: despite a significant increase in living space in recent years, the city is faced with an enormous need. By 2045, the population is forecast to increase to around 1.83 million people, which will result in an additional need for over 200,000 new apartments. We currently have around 1.6 million residents in Munich, spread across around 843,000 apartments, like this Evening newspaper reported.
The Schwabing-West district, on the other hand, has established itself as the most densely populated place in the state capital, with an impressive population density of around 15,700 people per square kilometer. In contrast, Aubing-Lochhausen-Langwied was able to add 3,000 new apartments between 2021 and 2024, representing a 14 percent increase in housing stock.
Growing demand and stagnating supply
The demand for living space in Munich has been exceeding the supply for years. This not only leads to rising rents, but also makes the hunt for an apartment a real challenge for many Munich residents. The average net rent was 14.58 euros per square meter in 2023, increasing by 24.7 percent since 2019. Rents for first occupancies now reach around 23.82 euros per square meter. Another striking detail is that the most expensive district, the historic old town and Lehel, commands rental prices of almost 29 euros per square meter. The Statista makes it clear that many new tenants now have to dig deeper into their pockets.
The city of Munich plans to build 8,000 to 8,300 new apartments per year between 2024 and 2025. However, only around 6,500 residential units were completed in 2024, which fell well short of expectations. In addition, only 3,000 subsidized apartments were added between 2020 and 2024, although the target was 2,000 subsidized units per year.
Rising rents and the influence of the surrounding area
Rents for re-letting rose from 19.58 euros per square meter in 2020 to 21.22 euros per square meter in 2024, increasing by around 8 percent. For new apartments, this price is on average 29 euros per square meter. Tenants in the surrounding area do not feel safe from lower prices either: in the districts of Landsberg am Lech, Erding and Freising we are also recording rising rental prices, which have already exceeded the 15 percent mark, reports Evening newspaper.
In addition, the extremely low vacancy rate of around 0.1 percent in Munich has an impact on the market. This number is based on the CBRE-empirica vacancy index and represents a historic low. An empty living space in Munich cannot remain unused for longer than three months, otherwise it is considered misused, which is based on a strict law that has been in force since 1972.
A look at the future
In order to meet the challenge, 9,837 new apartments were completed in Munich in 2023 - this is the highest figure in recent years, of which around 2,100 were publicly funded. The pressure on the real estate market continues to increase, which is pushing the city to its limits. Anyone looking for a suitable place to stay in the Bavarian capital must, for better or worse, be prepared for rising prices and strategically plan their own apartment search.