Real Estate Investment in Augsburg: Figures, Locations and an Honest Calculation

Kevin Celentano · 2026-10-13

Augsburg is located just over half an hour by train from Munich and is significantly cheaper. For many investors, this sounds like a good compromise: metropolitan demand, a Bavarian economy, and purchase prices that still seem affordable. The city has grown by almost 20,000 inhabitants in ten years.

However, before you decide on an apartment, it's worth taking a look at two figures that rarely appear next to each other in advertising brochures: the rent you are allowed to charge according to the rent index and rent control, and the price you pay per square meter. In Augsburg, both are closer together than is comfortable for landlords.

We have compiled the official figures and calculate an existing and a newly built apartment at the end.

01Augsburg in Figures

All values we use for classification, with source and status.

02Population and Demand

Augsburg has officially just under 302,000 inhabitants and is the third largest city in Bavaria. In the city's registration register, the number of people with their main residence has risen from 283,988 at the end of 2015 to 303,677 at the end of 2025, a plus of 6.9%. However, growth has slowed down significantly lately. In 2025, only 367 inhabitants were added, the lowest number since the pandemic year of 2020.

The Bavarian State Office for Statistics expects around 312,500 inhabitants in 2044 in its forecast from April 2026. Compared to 2024, that would be 3.8% more. The forecast is based for the first time on the figures from the 2022 census.

For landlords, what counts most is how people live. In the census, 51.0% of Augsburg households were people living alone; in Bavaria as a whole, it was 41.9%. 65.2% of apartments were rented, while only 30.0% were occupied by their owners themselves. Anyone who rents out small apartments in Augsburg therefore has a broad target group.

New living space is being created primarily on large areas. The largest project is Haunstetten Südwest, where apartments for at least 10,000 people and 5,000 jobs are to be created on around 200 hectares. The quarter is still in the framework planning stage; development plans will only follow. In the short term, therefore, it changes little in terms of supply.

03Economy and Labor Market

Augsburg is a classic industrial location that is changing towards technology and services. The city counts around 153,000 employees subject to social security contributions. In 2023, 77,251 people commuted to work in Augsburg. Known employers include the robot manufacturer KUKA, companies from the mechanical and plant engineering and aerospace supply sectors, the University Hospital, and the city administration.

The dependence on industry and suppliers has a downside. The city's unemployment rate in September 2026 was 7.2%, the same as a year earlier. 12,766 people were registered as unemployed. In the entire employment agency district with the Augsburg and Aichach-Friedberg districts, it was only 5.1%. The city thus bears a large share of the region's unemployment.

For landlords, this means the tenant base is mixed. In addition to well-earning specialists, there are many households for whom every euro of rent counts. This speaks for apartments of medium size and price range and against luxury equipment that only pays off through high rents.

Around 17,800 people were enrolled at the University of Augsburg in the 2025/26 winter semester, and 7,925 at the Augsburg Technical University. Since 2019, the Augsburg Clinic has been a university clinic. Students primarily ask for small apartments. According to the census, one-room apartments with a median of €10.48/m² were the most expensive rental apartments in the city.

04Rents, Purchase Prices and Rental Yield

The qualified rent index 2025 applies from Dec 1, 2025, to Nov 30, 2027. It is based on a survey as of July 1, 2025. On average for all recorded apartments, the net cold rent was €9.80/m². For a 65 m² apartment from the 1970s, the base table names €8.87/m²; in an above-average location (location class 3), 4% is added, i.e., €9.22/m². The seven location classes range from 11% surcharge to 11% discount.

New rental agreements are significantly higher. The real estate association IVD Süd names €12.50/m² for existing apartments and €14.25/m² for new builds for good residential value in spring 2026. For purchase prices, the IVD names €3,990/m² for existing condominiums and €5,960/m² for new build apartments, both only just under 1% above autumn 2025. The city's expert committee publishes its transaction figures only in a paid report.

From purchase price and rent, the purchase price factor can be calculated. It says how many annual net cold rents the purchase price costs. The reciprocal is the gross rental yield. We have calculated both for an existing apartment at €3,990/m² with three rent assumptions.

The third line is usually not achievable for an existing apartment. Because of rent control, the rent in a new lease may be at most 10% above the local comparison rent, here around €10.14/m². Thus, the gross yield remains at around 3%, i.e., below a loan interest rate of 3.8%. You can check your own figure with the Rental Yield Calculator.

05City Districts at a Glance

Augsburg is divided into 42 statistical districts. The city has evaluated the rents from the 2022 census for each district. These are median values of all existing rents as of May 2022, not the rent for a new lease. However, they show well where the rent level is higher and where it is lower.

The span is large. There are almost €4.50/m² between the most expensive district, Göggingen-Ost, and the Firnhaberau with €5.57/m². However, the district is not decisive for your calculation, but the location class of the address in the rent index. It shifts the local rent up or down by up to 11%.

06Rules for Landlords in Augsburg

Rent control (Mietpreisbremse) applies in Augsburg. Since July 16, 2026, the Bavarian Tenant Protection Ordinance names 284 cities and municipalities and is valid until Dec 31, 2029. In a new lease, the rent may be at most 10% above the local comparison rent according to the rent index. Exceptions exist if the previous tenant already paid more, after a comprehensive modernization, and for apartments used and rented for the first time after Oct 1, 2014.

For an ongoing rental agreement, the reduced capping limit applies: the rent may rise by at most 15% in three years and never above the local comparison rent. Unlike in many other states, both rules are already fixed for Augsburg in Bavaria until the end of 2029.

In addition, there are notary and land registry costs of around 1.5 to 1.9% of the purchase price if you finance. A broker may be added depending on the object. The ancillary purchase costs for Bavaria are shown on the page on Property Transfer Tax in Bavaria; you can calculate your own total with the Ancillary Purchase Costs Calculator. The guide to notary costs explains what is incurred at the notary.

07Example Calculation: a Rented Apartment in Augsburg

Let's take Sabine, 44, single, employed with a taxable income of €60,000. She buys a rented condominium with 65 m², built in 1974, in a location of class 3 (4% surcharge according to the rent index). The purchase price corresponds to the IVD value for existing apartments, the rent exactly to the rent index. The name is made up, the figures are a calculation example and not a forecast.

In this example, Sabine pays around €399 a month out of her own pocket, after tax. €324 of this flows into repayment, i.e., into her own assets. Even without repayment, there are still around €74 a month that she contributes from her income.

Why does the calculation not work out even without repayment? The rent does not even cover the interest. With a gross yield of 2.8% and an interest rate of 3.8%, a loss occurs every year, which the tax only compensates for by around 37%. Our post on Taxing Rental Income explains how rental income is taxed.

Interest has more than three times the effect of any permissible rent increase. In Augsburg, the calculation is therefore decided by the purchase price and financing, hardly by the rent.

For comparison: a new build apartment in Augsburg

What changes if Sabine buys a newly built apartment instead of the existing one? We take 45 m² at the new build price named by the IVD for spring 2026: €5,960/m², i.e., €268,200. Sabine pays property transfer tax (€9,387) and notary and land registry costs (€4,581) again from equity, a total of €13,968. The bank finances the purchase price on the same terms. We set the rent at €15.52/m², the base net rent of the 2025 rent index for an apartment with 45 to 50 m² from the construction years 2020 to 2025, without location surcharge. The IVD names €14.25/m² for new build apartments for new leases, without specifying the size.

In Augsburg, the comparison is different than in many cities. The gross rental yield of the new build apartment, at around 3.1%, is even higher than that of the existing apartment at 2.8%, because the rent index values small, new apartments significantly higher. The depreciation is more than two and a half times as high in the first year (€11,229 instead of €4,341), and there is usually less maintenance in a new house in the first few years. On the other hand, the square meter costs around 49% more. After tax, Sabine pays around €127 a month here; after tax, it's around €127 instead of €399. Because the reducing-balance depreciation is calculated every year from the smaller remaining value, the tax savings decrease in the following years. Rent control does not apply to this apartment: apartments used and rented for the first time after Oct 1, 2014, are permanently excluded according to § 556f BGB. The capping limit of 15% applies here as well.

08Opportunities and Risks in Augsburg

There are demonstrable points in favor of Augsburg. The city has grown significantly in ten years, and the State Office expects further growth until 2044. Every second household is a single-person household, and around 25,000 students are looking for small apartments. The property transfer tax is the lowest in Germany, and the rules for landlords are fixed until the end of 2029.

On the other hand, there are equally clear points:

• Purchase prices: Around €4,000/m² in existing stock and €6,000/m² in new builds are high compared to the rent.
• Rents: The rent index limits the gross yield to around 3%; the gap to the loan interest rate must be bridged with equity or income.
• Economic risk: The city's unemployment is higher than in the surrounding area; the dependence on industry and suppliers is high.
• Capping limit: Increases in current contracts are limited to 15% in three years.

09Other Locations

Other cities in Bavaria: Overview Bavaria · Erlangen · Fürth · Ingolstadt · Munich · Nuremberg · Regensburg · Würzburg

All locations in comparison: Where is a real estate investment worthwhile? Cities in comparison 2026 · Which federal state is suitable? All 16 in comparison

10Read more

• Condominium as a capital investment: Pros and Cons
• Taxing rental income
• Notary costs when buying real estate
• Rental yield calculator
• Ancillary purchase costs calculator
• Property transfer tax in Bavaria

11Sources

All sources retrieved on Oct 13, 2026.

• Bavarian State Office for Statistics, GENESIS-Online Database, population as of Dec 31, 2025; Vorausberechnung der Bevölkerung 2024 bis 2044 (April 2026)
• City of Augsburg, Augsburg in Zahlen 2025, population and employees; Augsburger Statistik-Monatsheft September 2026
• 2022 Census (deadline May 15, 2022): housing stock, vacancy, households, single-person households via wahlatlas.net; evaluation by the city: Der Zensus 2022 in Augsburg – Ausgewählte Ergebnisse zur Gebäude- und Wohnungszählung (Sept 2024)
• Federal Employment Agency, Labor market report September 2026, Augsburg Agency district (Press release 042/2026)
• University of Augsburg, Student numbers for the 2025/26 winter semester; TH Augsburg, Studentenstatistik
• City of Augsburg, 2025 Rent Index; Rent Index Online Calculator
• IVD Süd, CityReport Augsburg Frühjahr 2026 (Market report)
• Bavarian Tenant Protection Ordinance: Mieterschutzverordnung Bayern, GVBl. 2026 p. 278 ff.
• Property transfer tax in Bavaria 3.5% according to § 11 GrEStG; Notary and land registry according to § 34 GNotKG; 2026 income tax tariff according to § 32a EStG; Depreciation according to § 7 EStG and § 7b EStG
• All example calculations, purchase price factors and gross rental yields: own calculation, as of Oct 13, 2026

Note: This page is for general information and is not investment, tax or legal advice. All figures are example calculations with disclosed assumptions, as of Oct 13, 2026. Past developments are not a reliable indication of future ones.