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

Romolo Marini · 2026-10-13

You are looking for an apartment to rent out where the purchase price and rent are closer together than in Munich or Stuttgart. Dortmund quickly catches the eye. An apartment from the post-war period costs a median of around €2,100 per square metre here, and the university and the university of applied sciences together have over 40,000 students.

The other side is just as much a part of it. The unemployment rate is over 12%, the state office expects fewer inhabitants by 2050, and the rent index is significantly below the rents in advertisements. In addition, there is 6.5% land transfer tax.

We therefore work with official figures: city statistics, census, expert committee, qualified rent index. At the end, we calculate a rented apartment before and after tax and compare it with a new-build apartment.

01Dortmund in figures

The table bundles the most important data. Each row has its source and status; the links are listed below under Sources.

Almost three-quarters of occupied apartments in Dortmund are rented. For landlords, this is a large market, but for buyers, it is also a market with a lot of choice.

02Population and demand

Dortmund grew until 2024. At the end of 2024, the city had 614,495 inhabitants, more than for a long time. At the end of 2025, there were 612,165. The city explains the decline as an adjustment of the population register, i.e., dead wood, not as people moving away. Inflows and outflows were almost balanced in 2025, but a good 2,200 more people died than were born.

The state office IT.NRW expects a decline in the long term. By 2040, the population is expected to fall by just under 2%, and by 2050 by 3.7% compared to 2023. A forecast is not a promise. It shows, however, that growth in Dortmund is not a given and that the apartment must hold its own in the competition for tenants.

On the demand side, the universities help. The Technical University has almost 30,000 students, the University of Applied Sciences a good 13,000. In addition, there is a high proportion of single-person households at 48.6%. Small apartments near universities and railway lines are therefore in demand.

03Economy and labour market

On 30.06.2025, 266,398 employees subject to social security contributions had their workplace in Dortmund, 230,596 lived in the city. Every day, around 123,500 people commute in and 87,800 out. The balance of around 35,700 is significantly smaller than in Düsseldorf or Stuttgart.

Dortmund has developed into a location for services, logistics, information technology, and science since the end of coal and steel. With TU Dortmund, the University of Applied Sciences, and research institutes, the city is a large university location.

The labour market nevertheless remains the biggest weakness. In September 2026, 40,858 people were unemployed; the rate was 12.3%, a year earlier it was 11.9%. More than half of the unemployed have been without work for at least a year, according to the Jobcenter. Newly reported positions are at a very low level, according to the Employment Agency.

For your apartment, this means that tenant selection and location are more important in Dortmund than in cities with low unemployment. An apartment that is suitable for students, apprentices, and professionals is in wider demand than an apartment in a neighbourhood with many empty shops.

04Rents, purchase prices and rental yield

Dortmund has a qualified rent index. The 2025/2026 edition is valid until 31.12.2026 and carries forward the 2023/2024 values by 5.01%. For apartments from the years 1960 to 1969, the average is €6.30/m², the range is from €5.43 to €7.18/m². Depending on the city area, up to €0.91/m² is added. Advertisements are significantly higher: according to NRW.BANK, the asking rent for re-letting in 2024 was a median of €8.98/m².

The purchase prices come from the 2026 Property Market Report of the Expert Committee. 1,725 condominiums were sold in 2025, around 10% more than in the previous year. Most cost between €125,000 and €200,000. The Expert Committee shows median prices per year of construction: apartments from 1946 to 1975 with 40 to 110 m² cost €2,090/m², apartments from 2010 to 2023 €3,670/m². New-build apartments in the first sale were €4,550/m². Used apartments became around 5% more expensive in 2025.

The purchase price factor in Dortmund is significantly lower than that of Düsseldorf or Stuttgart. However, you only achieve a gross rental yield of over 5% with an asking rent if the rent control allows this rent. For an apartment from 1965, a maximum of around €7 to €8/m² would be allowed for re-letting, depending on the area and features. Realistic yields are therefore 3.6 to a good 4%.

high is the rental yield of your apartment? Enter the purchase price, rent, and ancillary costs, and the calculator shows the gross and net rental yield.

05City areas at a glance

The rent index divides Dortmund into seven areas and gives each its own surcharge on the reference rent. This is the most reliable official classification of locations available for Dortmund.

The surcharges are small compared to the price differences when buying. In the city centre and the south, you pay significantly more per square metre, but the rent there only rises by around €0.60 to €0.90/m². In the North city, prices rose somewhat more sharply in 2025 according to the Expert Committee, starting from a low level.

06Rules for landlords in Dortmund

Dortmund is one of the 57 municipalities that North Rhine-Westphalia has classified as a tight housing market.

• Rent control: For new lettings, the rent may not exceed the local reference rent by more than 10%. The ordinance is valid until 31.12.2029. Exempt are apartments first used and let after 01.10.2014, and the first letting after comprehensive modernisation. You may continue to charge a higher previous rent.
• Rent increase cap: In an ongoing tenancy, the rent may rise by a maximum of 15% in three years. Valid until 28.02.2030.
• Notice period cap: If a rented apartment is converted into a condominium, the buyer can only give notice for personal use after eight years. Valid until 28.02.2030.
• Rent index: The 2025/2026 qualified rent index is the benchmark for rent increases and for the rent control. It is valid until 31.12.2026, after which a new edition will follow.

When buying in North Rhine-Westphalia, you pay 6.5% land transfer tax. In addition, there are around 1.3 to 1.8% for notary and land registry, closer to more for small purchase prices, and possibly an agent. For an apartment for €126,000, that's a good €10,000 without an agent. The purchase cost calculator will calculate your own figures.

07Example calculation: a rented apartment in Dortmund

Let's take Anna. She is employed, single, has a taxable income of €55,000, and buys a rented two-room apartment with 60 m² in a building from 1965 in the south of Dortmund. She pays €2,100/m², roughly the median for apartments of this construction period. The tenant pays €6.95/m² cold, the average rent index value plus the South area surcharge. The name is fictitious, the figures are a calculation example and not a forecast.

Anna pays in around €200 a month after tax. At the same time, she repays €210 a month. Without repayment, the apartment would be roughly break-even after tax, with a small surplus of around €100 a year. This is significantly less contribution than in the expensive large cities, but also less asset accumulation because the loan amount is smaller.

How does the tax saving come about? Anna can deduct interest, depreciation, and the administrative share of the house money from the rent. For a house from 1965, depreciation of 2% per year applies. We assume 75% as the building share; in individual cases, this results from the purchase price allocation.

Honestly calculated, the example shows why Dortmund is interesting for many investors and where the limits lie. The rent here covers the interest; that's not the case in Stuttgart or Düsseldorf. In return, you bear a higher risk in the event of a tenant change, rent default, and renovation, which is not included in the calculation. You can read how rental income is taxed in the guide Taxing rental income.

For comparison: a new-build apartment in Dortmund

Assume Anna instead buys a newly built apartment with 45 m² from a developer and lets it out for the first time. New-build apartments cost a median of €4,550/m² in 2025 according to the Expert Committee. We set the rent at €13.26/m², the median of new-build asking rents in 2024 according to NRW.BANK. Income, interest, and repayment remain as above.

After tax, Anna pays in around €160 a month for the new-build instead of around €200, and she repays around €340 instead of €210 a month. The depreciation in the first year is more than four times higher than for the existing property, and a new house usually needs less maintenance in the first few years. However, the square metre costs more than twice as much, and the gross rental yield of around 3.5% is below the approx. 4.0% of the existing apartment. The rent control does not apply to the new-build apartment (§ 556f BGB), but the rent increase cap for later increases does. The reducing-balance depreciation falls every year; the depreciation calculator shows the progression.

08Opportunities and risks

What speaks for Dortmund can be proven. As can what speaks against it.

Opportunities

• Low purchase prices, with rent index rents purchase price factors around 25 to 28.
• In our example, the rent covers the interest; the contribution remains small.
• Large universities with over 40,000 students at TU and FH.
• Qualified rent index with clear area surcharges.
• Existing property prices 2025 around 5% higher, the number of sales rose by around 10%.

Risks

• Unemployment rate of 12.3%, increased compared to the previous year, many long-term unemployed.
• IT.NRW expects 3.7% fewer inhabitants by 2050.
• Rent index values of older apartments around €6 to €7/m², rent control limits new lettings.
• 6.5% land transfer tax and, for small purchase prices, proportionately higher notary costs.
• Large differences between city districts, higher risk of rent default and tenant change in weaker locations.
• Many buildings from the 1950s and 1960s with renovation needs for the roof, façade, and heating.

09Other locations in the Ruhr area

Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia: Bochum · Duisburg · Essen · Gelsenkirchen

Large cities nearby: Düsseldorf · Cologne · Münster

All locations in comparison: Where is a buy-to-let property worth it? Cities compared 2026 · Which federal state is suitable? All 16 in comparison

10Further reading

• Condominium as a buy-to-let investment: pros and cons
• Taxing rental income
• Notary costs for real estate purchases
• Rental yield calculator
• Purchase cost calculator
• Land transfer tax in NRW

11Sources

All sources accessed on 13.10.2026.

• City of Dortmund, Population statistics: Inhabitants by city district (reference date 31.12.2025)
• IT.NRW, Population forecast 2024 to 2050 for municipalities and districts in NRW, July 2024
• Federal Statistical Office, Census 2022, Regional Table Buildings and Apartments (reference date 15.05.2022)
• NRW.BANK, Housing Market Profile Dortmund 2025 (as of 2024)
• Agentur für Arbeit Dortmund, Labour Market Report September 2026
• Expert Committee for Property Values in the City of Dortmund, Property Market Report 2026 (sales 2025)
• City of Dortmund, Rent Index 2025/2026
• Federal Employment Agency, Pendleratlas, Social security employees by residence and workplace (30.06.2025)
• § 556d BGB, § 558 BGB, § 577a BGB
• Shares, comparisons and purchase costs: own calculation, as of 13.10.2026.

Note: This page is general information and not investment, tax or legal advice. All figures are taken from the sources mentioned or are calculation examples with disclosed assumptions, as of 13.10.2026. Past developments and forecasts are not a reliable indication of future results.