Germany’s housing stock reached approximately 43.8 million units by the close of 2024, according to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This figure represents a 0.5% increase, equating to 238,500 additional dwellings, compared to the end of 2023. Over the ten-year period since 2014, the total number of homes has expanded by 6.1%, or 2.5 million units.
This growth has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in living space, with the total area of homes rising by 9.1% to reach 4.1 billion square meters.
The vast majority of these homes, roughly 42.9 million (98.0%), are situated in residential buildings. Multifamily buildings account for the largest portion, housing 23.5 million units, representing over half of the total. The average size of Germany’s 3.5 million multifamily buildings is approximately 6.7 apartments per building. Single-family homes comprise roughly one-third (31.4%) of the residential properties, totaling 13.5 million units. Two-family houses house 5.5 million dwellings (12.8%), while residential homes contain a smaller 0.4 million (1.0%).
A relatively small number of homes, approximately 890,000 (2.0%), are located in non-residential buildings, including caretaker apartments in schools and residential units above commercial spaces in urban areas.
The increase in living space outpaced the growth in the number of homes between 2014 and 2024. By the end of 2024, the average size of a German apartment was 94.0 square meters, with a per capita living space of 49.2 square meters. This constitutes a rise of 2.5 square meters per apartment (a 2.8% increase) and 2.7 square meters per person (a 5.8% increase) compared to 2014.
Reflecting the stronger growth in housing relative to the population, the ratio of people per dwelling has slightly decreased. As of the end of 2024, this ratio stood at approximately 1.9 persons per dwelling, down from 2.0 persons per dwelling in 2014.
