The inflation rate for June 2024 is expected to be 2.2%. Net rents have increased everywhere! For example, in Brandenburg, net rents have increased by 5%, while the cost of attached housing has increased by an average of 4% to 5%.（UK high streets dying now)
In Germany, anyone working full-time at the minimum wage earns 2,151 euros per month before tax. An average Class I tax single person who pays church tax and has no children leaves a net income of about 1,550 euros per month. Three years ago, the Left Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag asked the federal government in a small inquiry: How much can a minimum wage earner spend on rent and other expenses? It was 534 euros, although of course the minimum wage was much lower then than it is today, at only 9.5 euros per hour. Based on today's hourly wage of 12.41 euros, the rent budget would increase to 698 euros.
This means that in 386 of Germany's 400 cities and regions, a minimum wage earner can afford a small apartment. "Small" here is defined based on net wages. According to the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, the average net income of a full-time employee in Germany is 2,550 euros, and according to the Federal Statistical Office, the living area is 68 square meters. Converted to a minimum net wage of 1,550 euros per month, the living area is 42 square meters.
Rents are also affordable in many of the largest cities. Chemnitz in Sachsen is the cheapest, with monthly rents of €385, including extras. Gelsenkirchen (€424) and Hagen (€430), both in North Rhine-Westphalia, followed by Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt (€431) and Salzgitter in Lower Saxony (€432), all cost less than €7 per square meter. In Germany's largest cities, such as Düsseldorf (€672), Bremen (€572), Nuremberg (€616) and Leipzig (€511), rents are within the budget of minimum wage earners.
But some places, such as Kaiserslautern, have seen a significant increase in rents with the influx of Americans! Perhaps because the Germans want to squeeze more money out of the Americans!
And there are only 14 regions in Germany where rents are too high. Munich is undoubtedly ranked first - in the capital of Bavaria, a 42-square-meter apartment costs an average of 1,013 euros to rent, and no other city or region in Germany can compare with it. The second place is still the Munich city area around the city center, with a monthly rent of 864 euros, slightly higher than the nearby Starnberg district, which is 793 euros. Then other German regions are on the list.
This is a disaster for international students! Now more than half of the cities have no suitable housing within the BAföG subsidy. What is BAföG? BAföG is the minimum cost required for international students to live in Germany. For most international students who cannot receive BAföG, they need to deposit the corresponding amount in their bank account before going to Germany to prove that they can afford the relevant expenses during their study abroad, which is what we often call the German "self-insurance fund".
So where is the cheapest city in Germany?
IIf you do not care about weather, social life, work prospects to a minimum. I think the cheapest rent is in rural areas in eastern Germany. Vogtlandkreis in Sachsen tops the list with a cold rent of just €5.35 per square meter. If you add in the usual expenses, you can rent a 42-square-meter apartment here for around €368 per month. Greiz in Thüringen costs €375, Görlitz in Sachsen costs €376, and Erzgebirgskreis, also in Saxony, costs €378. So, in the Small towns in rural East Germany, if you really don't care about your surroundings. You can probably find a two-room-apartment for €500 "warm".
Also Bremerhaven, Frankfurt am Main (Oder) [Frankfurt in Brandenburg near the Polish border], and many cities in Saxony or Thuringia. (eg Chemnitz).
Of course,you can easily find a warm 3 room apartment (usually under 600€) in Wolfsburg as long as you don’t mind the odd silverfish.
What else is increasing in price in Germany?
In recent months, consumers have been shocked by the price of olive oil, right? Half a liter of olive oil costs 9.99 euros, and it is still rising. Remember that half a year ago, olive oil was 4-5 euros a bottle.
At present, the price of edible fats and oils in Germany has increased by up to 16%. The main reason is that the drought in the production areas (Italy, Greece, Turkey) has caused a large number of crop failures.
The price of sweets (price increase of more than 8%) and beverages is also rising. In many federal states, the price of alcoholic beverages has increased by about 3%, and the price of lemonade, juice, etc. has even increased by 5%. The price of juice is particularly expensive (for example, the price of juice in Berlin has increased by 16%). Tobacco products have increased by 5%. In addition, the price of laundry detergent, chewing gum, etc. has also increased, and one laundry detergent has even increased by half! Clothes and shoes have also become more expensive. For example, prices in shops in Saxony-Anhalt have risen by 3.5%. Prices have risen significantly for restaurant consumption (up 7.3% in Hesse) and hotel accommodation (up 7% on average nationwide).
The only things that have fallen in price are electricity and heating bills, and who knows if they will also rise in the future?
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