Property prices Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main is growing – as a stable business location, internationally important financial centre and European transportation hub. The largest city in Hesse attracts numerous young workers, older financially strong couples, but also foreign customers. 

The resulting excess demand ensures a correspondingly positive development of Frankfurt am Main property prices: In the nationwide city ranking, the Main metropolis has the third highest price level for condominiums after Munich and Starnberg. And even before Hamburg and Konstanz. Top locations such as the Westend, Holzhausen and the Diplomatic Quarter are still in great demand among owner-occupiers. Due to the attractive returns and the potential for value appreciation, capital investors are looking primarily for mid-range locations.

You can find out everything about current rental and purchase prices, the most sought-after districts and the development of Frankfurt am Main property prices in the following property market analysis:

For several years now, Frankfurt am Main has been one of the cities in Germany with the highest population growth. Since 2014, the number of inhabitants has risen by +7.1 percent to almost 760,000. Given its economic importance, it is unlikely that the mass influx and the associated demand for housing will decline in the foreseeable future.

Frankfurt am Main is also one of the nationwide leaders in terms of the vacancy rate for residential properties: The Main metropolis recorded a vacancy rate of just 0.3 per cent, which puts it ahead of the already low levels of Stuttgart (0.5 percent), Hamburg (0.5 percent) and Berlin (0.8 percent).

The continuing excess demand for residential space in Frankfurt am Main has caused the average rent in the Main metropolis to rise continuously for years. However, a distinction must be made here between existing and newly created residential properties, as new buildings in particular have recently recorded a significant increase in value.

For example, tenants of a new building paid an average asking rent of 16.72 euros per square metre of living space in the second quarter of 2020. Calculated over the past five years, the rent for new buildings rose by +12.9 percent.

The development curve for rents in Frankfurt is somewhat flatter for existing properties. In this sub-market, the average offered rent increased by +3.03 percent between 2019 and the second quarter of 2020, so that tenants in such property types currently pay an average of 14.26 euros per square metre. Over the past five-year period, the development of rental prices in this segment was +15.75 percent.

Parallel to the rent, the offer prices for condominiums in Frankfurt am Main have also been growing steadily for years. As a result, the Main metropolis now has the second-highest price level in Germany in this sub-market.

Last year, buyers paid an average of 7,751 euros per square metre for a new building. Calculated over the last five years, there has been a growth of +53.73 percent for newly built condominiums.

Existing condominiums also recorded a large increase in value. Here, capital investors paid an average square metre price of 5,982 euros in the second quarter of 2020. Over the past five years, the price increase here was +51.16 percent. 

Property prices in Frankfurt am Main also rose in the market for detached and semi-detached houses. In the second quarter of 2020, the average offer price was 999,008 euros, which corresponds to an increase of +27.5 percent compared to 2015. 

Property prices in Frankfurt: Residential investment

Apartment buildings are in great demand in Frankfurt. Of the A-cities, only Munich beats the Main metropolis. The average offer price in 2019 was 4,228 euros per square metre. Frankfurt remains a top investment location. Transaction figures, rents, prices and factors can be found in detail in our Market Report Residential Investment 2020.

To better assess the price dynamics of the property market in Frankfurt am Main, it is worth taking a look at the city's various locations. Here a distinction is made between districts in very good, good, mid-range and secondary locations. Experience shows that districts that are particularly close to the city centre or in exceptional geographical locations achieve the highest price levels.

This also applies to Frankfurt am Main: districts in a very good location are Westend, parts of Dornbusch and Sachenhausen Nord and the Diplomatic Quarter. Here, single- and two-family homes reach asking prices between 1.9 million euros and 4.7 million euros. With square metre prices of between 7,500 euros and 14,500 euros, the condominiums here also have the highest price level of the Main metropolis. Prices for residential and commercial buildings are stabilising at a high level with square metre prices of between 4,100 and 7,200 euros.

The districts of Frankfurt am Main in good locations border directly on the areas mentioned above. These include Eschersheim, large parts of Sachsenhausen, Nordend-Ost and parts of Nordend-West and Lerchesberg. Single- and two-family homes in these districts range in price from 850,000 euros to 2.5 million euros. The square metre prices for condominiums in these areas vary between 5,500 euros and 8,500 euros. Apartment buildings with or without a commercial space are sold for between 3,000 and 4,200 euros per square metre.

Mid-range locations include Seckbach, Bergen-Enkheim, Bornheim, Ostend, Sachsenhausen Süd, Niederrad Bockenheim and the European Quarter. Single- and two-family homes in these districts of Frankfurt range in price from 600,000 euros to 1.4 million euros. In the case of condominiums, the price range of 3,750 euros to 6,200 euros per square metre is expected to increase further. Increases in the mid-range locations are also expected in the residential and commercial buildings segment. Here, prices are currently between 2,200 and 3,100 euros.

Especially the outlying districts like Harnheim, Frankfurter Berg, Sossenheim, Praunheim, Sindlingen, Nied and Höchst are considered secondary locations. Single- and two-family homes in these areas achieve a price range of between 350,000 euros and 650,000 euros. However, a positive price development is also expected in the future. For condominiums in secondary locations, whose square metre prices are currently between 2,400 euros and 4,200 euros, the price level is expected to remain constant for the time being. In the secondary locations on the outskirts of the city, prices for residential and commercial buildings are rising sharply and are now in the range between 2,000 and 2,250 euros per square metre.

At present, a reversal of the trend of continuously rising property prices in Frankfurt am Main is not foreseeable. On the contrary, the high demand for residential space in the Main metropolis is likely to remain stable in the coming years due to its increasing importance as Germany's digital centre. David Schmitt of Engel & Völkers Frankfurt am Main summarises the current situation and forecasts: 

"Frankfurt as a stable business location is in great demand both nationally and internationally. The trend towards living in the city is unbroken, which is shown by the success of the flats placed on the market in the residential towers that are currently being built. Apart from this, detached single-family homes in premium locations in particular are achieving top prices. The demand for large flats with their own garden is also unbroken."

You can gain even more in-depth insights into the residential property market in Germany's 64 most important cities in our interactive comparison of all locations or in a personal meeting with "Germany's fairest estate agent". We look forward to hearing from you!

Eike Hugo and Garlef Reche from Engel & Völkers Commercial Frankfurt am Main classify current developments on the residential and commercial housing market in Frankfurt as follows: "Overall, the market for residential and commercial properties in Frankfurt am Main continues to be very dynamic. Purchase prices, especially in good, but also in secondary locations, have further stabilised. The demand for residential and commercial properties remains high. Thus, the financial metropolis in the heart of Europe continues to present itself as a top investment location for both private and institutional investors."

Transactions, coefficients, prices, rents and further information on 64 cities can be found in our Market Report Residential Investment Germany 2020.