Statistics - Census: Almost two million apartments are empty
Despite the high demand for housing, there are many vacant apartments in Germany. According to census data, there were approximately 1.9 million vacant apartments as of May 15, 2022, for various reasons. This corresponds to a vacancy rate of 4.3 percent, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. Over half of the real estate (55 percent) had not been inhabited for more than a year.
A little over a third of the vacant apartments (38 percent) were available for occupancy within the next three months. In the city-states of Hamburg, Bremen, and Berlin, the respective shares of these quickly available apartments were significantly higher, at 52 to 61 percent. For almost every fourth vacant apartment (24 percent), renovations or construction work were planned. A demolition was only planned for four percent of the vacant apartments. Seven percent were intended to be sold or used by the owners themselves. For every fifth vacant apartment, "other reasons" were given.
The data comes from the 2022 census, which is based on official registers and the survey of twelve percent of the population on various topic areas. According to the Federal Office, around 23 million property owners provided information on their real estate, as did around 8,000 housing companies.
Press release of Destatis Census 2022 on vacant apartments
In Wiesbaden, the city with the lowest percentage of quickly available vacant apartments for occupation, only 32% fall under this category according to the census statistics. Living in a vacant apartment in Germany isn't an immediate option for many, as the majority of these properties have been unoccupied for over a year.
