Premium property market in the top seven cities: Rising demand for housing, asking prices easing

The German premium property market showed contrasting trends in demand in the third quarter of 2026: whilst interest in high-quality flats is on the rise again compared with the same quarter last year, demand for premium houses is falling. Asking prices are falling in both segments. This is shown by a recent analysis by the premium estate agent DAHLER, which examined trends in supply and demand data from Germany’s largest property platform, ImmoScout24, across Germany’s top seven cities*. The analysis focused on the premium segment for flats and houses, each comprising the most expensive 10 per cent of listings on ImmoScout24.

The premium segment of the owner-occupied flat market recorded a 2.6 per cent increase in demand in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of the previous year (Q3 2025). This rise was particularly pronounced in Stuttgart (up 22.9 per cent) and Berlin (up 20.6 per cent), followed by Cologne (up 7.3 per cent) and Hamburg (up 5.4 per cent).
In Munich (down 20.3 per cent), Frankfurt am Main (down 18.9 per cent) and Düsseldorf (down 1.1 per cent), however, demand fell over the same period. To determine demand, the trend in enquiries from prospective buyers registered via ImmoScout24 was analysed.

Asking prices also saw a downward trend: the median asking price per square metre stood at 9,135 euros in the third quarter of 2026, 7.6 per cent lower than in the same quarter of the previous year.
Stuttgart recorded the sharpest decline, with the median price falling by 9.4 per cent to €7,000 per square metre, followed by Munich (down 8.5 per cent to €13,734 per square metre). The Bavarian capital thus remains the most expensive premium residential property market among the top seven cities. In Berlin, the median asking price fell by 8.0 per cent to €8,490 per square metre, reaching its lowest level since the first quarter of 2023. In Hamburg, the median price of advertised premium flats fell by 7.0 per cent to €11,238 per square metre. Asking prices showed a comparatively moderate trend in Frankfurt am Main (down 3.5 per cent to €9,874 per square metre), Düsseldorf (down 1.8 per cent to €8,220 per square metre) and, in particular, Cologne, where the price level remained virtually unchanged, falling by just 0.4 per cent to €7,970 per square metre.

The supply of premium flats also fell by 9.3 per cent compared with the same quarter last year. Düsseldorf recorded the sharpest decline (down 15.3 per cent), whilst Hamburg saw the smallest fall, at 5.8 per cent. Düsseldorf thus occupies a unique position in both segments: the supply of premium houses there also fell the most, by 24.0 per cent.

A combined analysis of the premium flats and premium houses markets in Germany’s top seven cities reveals a mixed picture in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Whilst demand for premium flats rose by 2.6 per cent, demand for premium houses fell by 11.9 per cent. Across both segments, the number of premium properties advertised on ImmoScout24 fell by 9.0 per cent.
Across all segments, asking prices fell by 7.4 per cent and demand by 3.6 per cent.

Premium houses saw smaller declines in supply and median asking prices than premium flats.
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Chart: Change in demand in the premium segment of the owner-occupied flat market in Germany’s top seven cities / Source: ImmoScout24 | DAHLER Research

Asking prices for premium properties fell in the third quarter of 2026: the median asking price per square metre stood at €9,759/m², 7.1 per cent below the level of the same quarter the previous year. The sharpest price falls amongst the top seven cities were recorded in Cologne (down 11.5 per cent to €8,158 per m²) and Frankfurt am Main (down 11.1 per cent to €9,041 per m²). Hamburg followed (down 8.2 per cent to €10,048 per m²). Despite a fall of 5.5 per cent to €14,182 per square metre, Munich remains by far the most expensive premium house market among the top seven cities. In Berlin, the median price for premium houses remained relatively stable, falling by 2.2 per cent to €9,350 per square metre.

Cologne was the exception amongst the top seven cities in terms of demand for premium properties: whilst the number of enquiries from prospective buyers rose by 10.0 per cent there, it fell in all other major cities. The sharpest declines were recorded in Frankfurt am Main (down 26.3 per cent) and Hamburg (down 21.5 per cent), followed by Berlin (down 11.4 per cent) and Munich (down 9.7 per cent). Overall, demand was 11.9 per cent below the previous year’s level.
The total number of premium properties advertised on ImmoScout24 in the top seven cities fell by 7.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter the previous year. The supply fell particularly sharply in Düsseldorf (down 24.0 per cent), followed by Hamburg (down 13.4 per cent), Cologne (down 12.8 per cent), Stuttgart (down 10.0 per cent), Frankfurt am Main (down 8.7 per cent) and Munich (down 6.1 per cent). However, the picture on the supply side was not entirely uniform: in Berlin, the number of properties on offer in the third quarter of 2026 was 4.2 per cent higher than in the same quarter of the previous year.

“The stabilising trend in demand shows that active market participants are still in a price-discovery phase. Some potential buyers are still expecting further price reductions. The current resurgence in demand in the market for high-end flats indicates that asking prices in this sector have already converged to a greater extent,” says Björn Dahler, founder and managing director at DAHLER. “On the other hand, many potential sellers are still adopting a wait-and-see approach and are not advertising their properties, which is reducing the supply on the market.”

Dahler adds: “The trends in individual cities show just how much the markets differ. In Cologne, demand for premium properties is rising, whilst it is falling in the other major cities. Düsseldorf, on the other hand, is seeing the sharpest decline in supply across both segments. For owners and buyers, therefore, it is not so much a general assessment of the market that matters as the specific location, the quality of the property and a price that matches the demand in that particular area.”

*These are Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne and Stuttgart.

• The number of property listings on ImmoScout24 fell by 9.3 per cent across the seven cities under review.
• The median asking price per square metre stood at €9,135/m², which was 7.6 per cent lower than in the same quarter of the previous year.
• The highest median asking price was once again recorded in Munich, at €13,734 per square metre. This was followed by Hamburg (€11,238 per square metre) and Frankfurt am Main (€9,874 per square metre).
• Stuttgart recorded the sharpest fall in prices (down 9.4 per cent to €7,000 per square metre), followed by Munich (down 8.5 per cent to €13,734 per square metre) and Berlin (down 8.0 per cent to €8,490 per square metre).
• Overall demand rose by 2.6 per cent. It increased particularly sharply in Stuttgart (up 22.9 per cent) and Berlin (up 20.6 per cent). In Munich (down 20.3 per cent) and Frankfurt am Main (down 18.9 per cent), however, it fell.

• In the premium segments of the residential property markets in Germany’s top seven cities, supply fell by 7.6 per cent.
• The median asking price per square metre stood at €9,759/m², which was 7.1 per cent below the level of the same quarter last year.
• Only Berlin (up 4.2 per cent) recorded an increase in supply. The sharpest decline in supply was seen in Düsseldorf (down 24.0 per cent), followed by Hamburg (down 13.4 per cent) and Cologne (down 12.8 per cent).
• Cologne recorded the sharpest fall in prices (down 11.5 per cent to €8,158 per square metre), followed by Frankfurt am Main (down 11.1 per cent to €9,041 per square metre).
• Munich remained the most expensive premium residential market among the top seven cities at €14,182 per square metre, despite a 5.5 per cent decline compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
• Overall demand fell by 11.9 per cent compared with the same quarter last year. It fell particularly sharply in Frankfurt am Main (down 26.3 per cent) and Hamburg (down 21.5 per cent). Only in Cologne did it rise, by 10.0 per cent.