In the third quarter of 2026, the German market for prime real estate presented a mixed picture. While interest in high-end condominiums picked up again compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the premium house segment recorded a significant decline in demand. At the same time, asking prices fell across both property types. This is the finding of a study by estate agency DAHLER, which analysed supply and demand data from the ImmoScout24 platform across Germany's seven major cities. In each case, the top ten per cent of the price segment was examined.
Demand for premium flats increased by 2.6 per cent year-on-year. This increase was driven primarily by Stuttgart with growth of 22.9 per cent and Berlin with 20.6 per cent. Cologne with plus 7.3 per cent and Hamburg with plus 5.4 per cent also recorded growing buyer interest. In contrast, there was a marked decline in enquiries in Munich by 20.3 per cent and in Frankfurt am Main by 18.9 per cent. In Düsseldorf, the drop remained moderate at 1.1 per cent. At the same time, the supply of premium flats fell by an average of 9.3 per cent across the major cities, with Düsseldorf showing the sharpest contraction at minus 15.3 per cent.
Price adjustments for premium condominiums
The median asking price per square metre for premium flats stood at 9,135 EUR per square metre in the third quarter of 2026, down 7.6 per cent year-on-year. Stuttgart recorded the steepest decline, where the median value fell by 9.4 per cent to 7,000 EUR. Despite an 8.5 per cent decrease to 13,734 EUR per square metre, Munich remained by far the most expensive market among the top 7 cities. In Berlin, asking prices fell by 8.0 per cent to 8,490 EUR per square metre, representing the lowest level since the first quarter of 2023. In Hamburg, the median price dropped by 7.0 per cent to 11,238 EUR per square metre. Smaller adjustments were recorded in Frankfurt am Main with minus 3.5 per cent to 9,874 EUR, Düsseldorf with minus 1.8 per cent to 8,220 EUR, and Cologne with a slight drop of 0.4 per cent to 7,970 EUR per square metre.
In the premium house market, the number of prospective buyer enquiries fell by an average of 11.9 per cent across the major cities. Cologne was a notable exception, where demand rose by 10.0 per cent. In all other top cities, buyer interest declined, most sharply in Frankfurt am Main with minus 26.3 per cent and in Hamburg with minus 21.5 per cent. In Berlin, demand fell by 11.4 per cent, and in Munich by 9.7 per cent. At the same time, the number of advertised prime houses also decreased by 7.6 per cent. Düsseldorf recorded the largest drop in supply at minus 24.0 per cent, whereas Berlin was the only major city to show supply growth of 4.2 per cent.
Development of house prices and market assessment
The median price for premium houses across all top 7 locations declined by 7.1 per cent to 9,759 EUR per square metre. The largest discounts were recorded in Cologne with minus 11.5 per cent to 8,158 EUR and Frankfurt am Main with minus 11.1 per cent to 9,041 EUR per square metre. In Hamburg, the price level dropped by 8.2 per cent to 10,048 EUR. Munich maintained the top position for houses as well: despite a decline of 5.5 per cent, the price per square metre stood at 14,182 EUR. In Berlin, the market proved comparatively stable, with a decline of 2.2 per cent to 9,350 EUR per square metre.
Björn Dahler, founder and managing director of DAHLER, stated regarding the market situation that market participants remained in a price discovery phase. Some prospective buyers were anticipating further price cuts. However, the renewed pick-up in demand for condominiums indicated that price expectations in this sub-market had already converged more closely. On the vendor side, many owners continued to adopt a wait-and-see approach, which kept market supply constrained.
