Investment Property in Duisburg: Figures, Districts, and an Honest Calculation

Andriy Bezborodko · 2026-10-13

A rented two-room flat for a good 100,000 €, with the rent covering interest and house money almost completely. Such calculations make Duisburg interesting for many investors. However, the city also has the highest unemployment rate of the major Ruhr area cities and a labor market that sees more people commuting out than commuting in.

Whether the figures hold up is shown by a closer look. The Duisburg Expert Committee publishes not only purchase prices but also actual rents and gross rental factors of rented apartments. We have compiled this data, each with source and date.

At the end, we calculate a used and a new apartment, before and after taxes.

01Duisburg in Numbers

The most important figure for investors is at the bottom: The gross rental factor of 19.4. It comes from 76 actual sales of rented apartments and is therefore more meaningful than any asking price calculation.

02Population and Demand

Duisburg has hardly grown or shrunk in recent years. At the end of 2025, the Federal Statistical Office counted 500,810 inhabitants, 1,460 fewer than the year before. IT.NRW expects a slight decline to around 484,600 by 2050, which would be 3.7 % less than in 2023. A quarter of the population has no German citizenship; without immigration, the city would shrink significantly faster.

Households are larger in Duisburg than in many other major cities. In the 2022 census, one person lived alone in 47.1 % of the 244,650 households; the average household size according to NRW.BANK is 2.1 people. There is therefore demand not only for small apartments but also for family-friendly ones with three or more rooms.

03Economy and Labor Market

Duisburg is a steel and port city. The Port of Duisburg is considered the largest inland port in the world, thyssenkrupp Steel has its headquarters and largest works here. Add to this the University of Duisburg-Essen with a total of 37,298 students at the Duisburg and Essen sites, logistics, and trade. The steel industry is undergoing transformation, and many jobs in the city depend on it.

Unlike most major cities, Duisburg has more commuters leaving than entering. On 30.06.2025, 179,779 employees subject to social security contributions worked in the city. 89,443 commuted in, 94,453 Duisburgers worked outside. The balance is around −5,000.

The unemployment rate was 13.4 % in September 2026, with 35,944 unemployed. This is 1,047 more than a year earlier and more than double the federal average of 6.4 %. According to NRW.BANK, 16.8 % of the population lived on minimum security benefits in 2024. For landlords, this means: a large part of the tenants has a tight budget, which puts limits on the rent.

04Rents, Purchase Prices, and Rental Yield

The Expert Committee evaluated exactly 76 sales of rented condominiums in 2025. These apartments cost an average of 1,697 €/m², tenants paid 7.26 €/m². The average purchase price factor was 19.4; however, the spread was large at ± 6.2. Newly offered existing apartments cost a median of 7.71 €/m² in 2024 according to NRW.BANK, new apartments 11.92 €/m². A new qualified rent index has been in effect since 01.02.2026.

Regarding purchase prices, the Expert Committee differentiates by location and year of construction. Used apartments from 1950 to 1974, the largest part of the market, cost 1,647 €/m² in a medium location in 2025, 2,004 €/m² in a good location. Younger construction years from 1995 to 2009 were 2,330 €/m² and 2,677 €/m² respectively. New construction apartments cost an average of 4,752 €/m² in a medium location, primarily in the new Wedau quarter, 5,687 €/m² in a good location.

From price and rent results the gross rental yield, the reciprocal of the purchase price factor:

The first line comes directly from the Expert Committee, the other two are our own calculation. A gross yield of a good 5 % is high for a German major city. There are reasons: the Expert Committee calculates with operating costs of 26.4 % of rent and a remaining useful life of only 31 years for these apartments.

05Opportunities and Risks in Duisburg

Duisburg offers what is missing in many major cities: rented apartments with a good 5 % gross rental yield and no rent brake. The market was lively in 2025, with 1,885 apartments sold and 30 % more purchase cases than the previous year. The price index of the Expert Committee for condominium property rose by around 14 %. That describes the past and says nothing about how prices will develop in the future.

The risks are equally clear. The unemployment rate is more than double the federal average, the steel industry is in transformation, and more people commute out of the city than into it. According to the census, around three-quarters of residential buildings date from before 1979. Almost half of the vacancy is long-term.

Note: This page is general information and not investment, tax, or legal advice. All figures for the apartment are example calculations with disclosed assumptions, as of 13.10.2026.