Cushman & Wakefield’s 2025 Residential Investment Survey reveals a renewed surge in investor activity across Germany’s residential real estate sector, particularly in urban hubs and growing regional cities. With economic conditions stabilizing and interest rates showing signs of easing, the German living sector is re-attracting institutional capital at scale.
“Residential property remains an extremely attractive capital investment. The systemic relevance, crisis resilience and particularly high demand for residential property, especially in structurally strong regions, indicate that the asset class will continue to be important in the future. Investors are becoming increasingly active and are not only focusing on core properties but, are also looking for properties with short to medium-term value appreciation potential.” These are some of the findings from the latest residential property survey by Cushman & Wakefield, a global property consultancy, in which a total of 112 market players took part.
Investors focus on large cities and densely populated regions
Jan-Bastian Knod, Head of Residential Investment & Healthcare Advisory Germany at Cushman & Wakefield,summarizes as follows: “The more inhabitants a city has, the more investors are interested in a corresponding investment.” Investors are most interested in existing properties in large metropolitan regions (71%), followed by new-build residential properties in the same city category (60%). Only 28% would invest in properties in the largest cities, and only 9% in properties in smaller cities (under 50,000 inhabitants).
- €4.7 billion in residential transactions were recorded in the first half of 2025, a notable recovery from 2024 levels.
- Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg remain the top three investment destinations, jointly accounting for over 40% of national volume.
- 80% of surveyed investors plan to increase their allocation to residential assets over the next 3–5 years, up from 67% in 2023.
- Yield compression is evident again in prime micro-locations, with average net initial yields falling by 15 basis points quarter-over-quarter.
- Sustainability matters: Over 70% of respondents cited ESG criteria as a “very important” factor in asset selection, up sharply from previous years.
Outlook:
While challenges remain—especially around regulatory frameworks and development bottlenecks—the report points to a robust recovery. Multifamily, student housing, and senior living remain top asset classes of interest, particularly in cities experiencing demographic growth and housing shortages.
Germany’s residential market, long seen as a safe haven for capital, is regaining traction and poised for strong medium-term performance.
For more details, visit the official article:
[Residential Investment Survey – Cushman & Wakefield Germany](https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/germany/news/2025/06/residential-investment-survey-germany)