Capital Investment Property in Hamm: Figures, Locations, and an Honest Calculation

Romolo Marini · 2026-10-13

Hamm is located at the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, where it transitions into the Münsterland region and the Soest Börde. For investors, the city is interesting for a reason that is rarely mentioned: at the 2022 Census, only 2.8 % of flats were vacant, less than the state average and significantly less than in most Ruhr area cities.

At the same time, prices are low. A used flat from the 1970s cost an average of €1,765/m² in 2025. The catch lies in the rents: they are low in the existing stock, and that drags down the yield.

We have compiled the official figures and, at the end, calculate two flats: one used and one new.

01Hamm in numbers

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

02Population and demand

Hamm has 179,108 inhabitants. At the end of 2014, IT.NRW counted 176,580. The figures are based on different censuses and are only limitedly comparable. One thing is clear: the number of inhabitants has been stable for years, with slight fluctuations.

For the future, the state expects a slight decline. According to IT.NRW, the number of inhabitants will drop from 179,400 in 2023 to around 173,100 in 2050, a decline of 3.5 %. According to the forecast, it will remain practically the same until 2030; for 2040, the value is 98.7 % of today's level.

Hamm is less of a "tenant city" than the cities in the western Ruhr area. 59.2 % of flats were rented at the time of the Census, 39.4 % were occupied by the owners themselves. The proportion of single-person households is also below the state average at 42.0 %. Many households are families, and many live in their own houses.

More is being built in Hamm than in many neighboring cities. 410 flats were completed in 2024, about the same as the average of the ten years before. The stock has grown by 3.3 % in ten years.

03Economy and labor market

Hamm was long a mining city. Today, the city uses its location at the intersection of rail, canal, and highway: logistics is a focus, with the InlogParc industrial park and the port on the Datteln-Hamm Canal. Hamm is also the seat of the Higher Regional Court of Hamm and a rail hub in long-distance traffic. 23.3 % of employees work in the manufacturing sector.

On 31/12/2024, 63,325 employees subject to social insurance worked in the city. That is few for 179,000 inhabitants. 30,689 inhabitants commuted out for work, only 23,179 commuted in.

In September 2026, 8,416 people were registered as unemployed, the rate was 8.6 %, as high as a year earlier. This is less than in Krefeld (10.8 %) or Oberhausen (11.6 %) in the same month. 11.5 % of inhabitants received basic security benefits in 2024.

The Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences has around 4,500 students, about 2,500 of them at the Hamm campus. In the winter semester 2025/26, 532 first-semester students started in Hamm. For small flats near the station, this is an additional, albeit manageable, demand.

04Rents, purchase prices, and rental yield

The Hamm Valuation Board evaluated 237 sales of flats in 2025, including 220 used and 13 new ones. This is a small market. The average of all flats rose by 5.2 % to €2,016/m². Used flats cost on average €1,927/m², from the 1970s €1,765/m², from the 1960s €1,584/m². New flats were at €3,663/m² for the first sale, with an average of 104 m².

Small flats are more expensive. Flats under 50 m² cost €2,340/m² in resale, those with 70 to 89 m² €1,853/m².

For rented flats, the board cites its own key figures from 73 sales in 2024 and 2025: purchase price €1,826/m², rent €6.2/m², gross yield factor 24. The rent is the actual rent where it was known and market-standard, otherwise an approach according to the rent index (Mietspiegel) 2023.

The gross rental yield (Bruttomietrendite) depends strongly on the rent you assume in Hamm. With the rent of existing contracts, you are at a good 4 %, with the asking rent of new advertisements at a good 5 %. You only slowly close the gap of around €1.45/m² with an ongoing rental contract. You can check your own figure with the rental yield calculator (Mietrendite-Rechner).

05City districts at a glance

Hamm is large in area and divided into seven city districts. Many were their own communities until 1975 and have their own town centers. The Valuation Board does not publish prices or sales figures per district, so we describe the character without numbers.

More important than the district is the location within the district in Hamm. Flats near the main station and the city center appeal to commuters and students, flats in the outer districts more to families.

06Rules for landlords in Hamm

North Rhine-Westphalia has introduced rent control and a lowered cap on rent increases in 57 municipalities. Hamm is not one of them. For you, this means:

• No rent control (Mietpreisbremse): With a new letting, the rent amount is freely negotiable. Limits are set by the prohibition of rent overcharging (§ 5 Economic Criminal Code) and rent usury.
• Cap on rent increases (Kappungsgrenze) 20 %: During the ongoing rental relationship, the rent may rise by a maximum of 20 % in three years, and only up to the local comparative rent. The basis is the city's qualified rent index.

Anyone who buys a flat with €6.20/m² can therefore mathematically increase the rent to a maximum of €7.44/m² in three years, provided the rent index allows it. A change of tenant is the faster way to the market rent.

07Example calculation: a rented flat in Hamm

Let's take Stefan, 39, single, employed with a taxable income of €60,000. He buys a rented flat with 70 m², built in 1974, in Hamm-Mitte. The purchase price of €123,550 corresponds to the average of the Valuation Board for these years of construction. The rent is at €6.20/m², the level determined by the board for rented flats. The name is invented, the figures are a calculation example and not a forecast.

Stefan pays around €128 a month from his own pocket in this example, after taxes. €154 of this flows into repayment, i.e., into his own assets. Without repayment, a small surplus of around €26 per month remains after taxes.

Why is the calculation weaker than in some neighboring cities? The purchase price is low, but so is the rent. The non-allocatable costs eat up a large part at €434 monthly rent. Our article on taxing rental income (Mieteinnahmen versteuern) explains how rental income is taxed.

In Hamm, the rent moves the calculation as much as the interest. A flat that is let significantly below market level today has potential, but only upon change of tenant or over several rent increases.

For comparison: a new-build flat in Hamm

What changes if Stefan buys a newly built flat instead of the used one? We assume 45 m² at the average price of first sales 2025: €3,663/m². That results in €164,835. Real estate transfer tax (€10,714) and notary and land register fees (€3,027) he pays from equity, totaling €13,741. The bank finances the purchase price under the same conditions. As rent, we assume the asking rent for new builds that NRW.BANK identifies for 2024: €12.00/m².

Compared to the used flat, the depreciation in the first year is more than three times as high (€7,105 instead of €2,132), and usually less maintenance occurs in a new house in the first years. In return, the square meter costs more than twice as much, the gross rental yield drops slightly to around 3.9 % instead of 4.2 %. Before taxes, Stefan pays around €242 a month here, after taxes around €8. Because the degressive depreciation is calculated from the smaller residual value each year, the tax savings decrease in the following years. And the rent of €12.00/m² is an asking rent, not a rent index value. Rent control does not apply in Hamm. For flats that were used and let for the first time after 01/10/2014, it would not be applicable anyway according to § 556f BGB.

08Opportunities and risks in Hamm

Proven points speak for Hamm. The vacancy is low at 2.8 %, unemployment is moderate for the region, the number of inhabitants is stable. Used flats cost around €1,800/m², and there is no rent control. With a university, logistics, and administration, the city has several pillars.

On the other hand, there are equally clear points:

• Low existing rents: Rented flats bring an average of €6.2/m² according to the Valuation Board.
• Small market: Only around 240 flat sales per year. A later sale may take longer.
• Forecast: IT.NRW expects 3.5 % fewer inhabitants by 2050.
• Commuter city: More inhabitants work out of town than employees come in.
• Fluctuating prices: The price index for used flats fell in 2024 and rose again in 2025. One year is not a trend.
• Interest and maintenance: With low rent, a higher follow-up interest rate or a special levy weighs particularly heavily.

The advantages and disadvantages of a flat as a capital investment in general are in our article Flat as capital investment.

09Further locations

Other cities in North Rhine-Westphalia: Overview North Rhine-Westphalia · Aachen · Bielefeld · Bochum · Bonn · Dortmund · Duisburg · Düsseldorf · Essen · Gelsenkirchen · Krefeld · Köln · Leverkusen · Mönchengladbach · Mülheim an der Ruhr · Münster · Neuss · Oberhausen · Paderborn · Siegen · Troisdorf · Wuppertal

All locations in comparison: Where is a capital investment property worth it? Cities compared 2026 · Which federal state is suitable? All 16 in comparison

10Further reading

• Flat as capital investment: advantages and disadvantages
• Taxing rental income
• Notary costs for property purchase
• Rental yield calculator
• Purchase cost calculator
• Real estate transfer tax in North Rhine-Westphalia

11Sources

All sources accessed as of 13/10/2026.