The increase in asking prices for residential properties in Germany has significantly lagged behind the European average since spring 2025, a finding presented by the European Real Estate Index (EREI) from the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH).
The data showed that in July 2026, the asking price index for the German sales segment rose by 1.2 percent compared to the previous month, while the EREI indicated a slight decrease of 0.1 percent across the European average. Looking at the longer-term trend, the increase in Germany, measured since March 2025, reached 2.5 percent, substantially lower than the 6.6 percent recorded in Europe.
According to Michael Koetter, Head of the Financial Markets Department and Vice President at the IWH, it is important to note that asking prices are not the same as the actual purchase prices. Nevertheless, he added, “They provide early warnings and indicate, at a smaller regional level, where housing is becoming particularly expensive and how various markets are diverging.”
