Investment Properties in Hesse: Cities, Figures and Rules 2026

Romolo Marini · 2026-10-13

You are thinking about a rented flat in Hesse. Perhaps in Frankfurt, because demand is high there, perhaps in Kassel or Gießen, because prices are lower. Both can be a good fit. Between the Rhine-Main area and the north of the state, however, there is a difference of more than €5 per square metre in average rent.

In addition, there is a date you should know: the Hessian Tenant Protection Ordinance ends on 25 November 2026. A new version for 71 municipalities is in preparation, but not yet decided. This page categorises both, compares the most important cities and shows the official figures with status.

01Hesse in figures

The most important state data in a table, each row with source and status.

Hesse has the highest Census rent of all non-city states after Bavaria. Vacancy is below the national average of 4.3%. However, a good half of the empty flats had already been empty for a year or longer, especially outside the metropolitan areas.

02Population: Rhine-Main and Northern Hesse

At the end of 2025, 6,278,594 people lived in Hesse according to the municipal directory of the Federal Statistical Office, 2,199 fewer than a year earlier. The number is thus practically stable. The 16th coordinated population projection expects around 6.19 million inhabitants in its medium variant by 2040, 1.5% fewer than in 2024. With high immigration, Hesse would achieve a small plus of 0.9%, with low immigration a minus of 3.9%.

The vacancy rate shows where the demand is. On the Census reference date 15 May 2022, it was 3.1% in Frankfurt, 3.1% in the Main-Taunus-Kreis and 3.2% in the Landkreis Offenbach. At the other end are the Werra-Meißner-Kreis with 5.7%, Hersfeld-Rotenburg with 5.2% and the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis with 5.1%. There, the average rent was also only a good half as high as in Frankfurt at €4.81 to €5.36/sqm.

The Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) sees cities and central districts ahead nationwide in its spatial planning forecast up to 2045. A Hessian example: in the Gießen district, the number of people under 20 is expected to rise by 19.0%, the highest value of all urban districts in Germany. University cities like Gießen and Marburg have their own, young demand.

03The most important cities for investors in Hesse

The table shows the state's eight largest cities. Vacancy and rent both come from the 2022 Census. The rent is the average of all existing tenancy agreements in May 2022, not a current asking price.

Inhabitants: Municipal Directory of the Federal Statistical Office, 31 Dec 2025. Rent brake according to the applicable Tenant Protection Ordinance, as of 13 Oct 2026.

Purchase prices from the Expert Committees are available for two cities. In Frankfurt, condominiums cost an average of €5,670/sqm in the first half of 2026. In Kassel, second-hand flats were €2,530/sqm in 2025, new-build flats €5,356/sqm. For the other cities, we supplement the values with the city pages.

The figures show two markets. Frankfurt, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden have high rents and low vacancy, but also high purchase prices. Kassel has around €3.80 less rent per square metre than Frankfurt, but also costs less than half as much to buy. Marburg and Gießen are small university markets with their own demand. Which mix is better for you is only shown by the calculation with purchase price, rent and costs.

04Rules for landlords in Hesse

Hesse regulates the rent brake, capping limit and termination block period together in the Tenant Protection Ordinance. The current version dates from 2020, was extended by one year in November 2025 and ends on 25 Nov 2026.

The new version also gives the 71 municipalities instruments for building land mobilisation, such as a special right of first refusal for fallow land. This changes little for buyers of a single flat. There is no state subsidy for the purchase of a single rented second-hand flat. Housing subsidies via WIBank are aimed at builders and owners who create rental housing and enter into commitments for this.

05Ancillary purchase costs in Hesse

The property transfer tax in Hesse has been 6.0% since August 2014. Together with Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, this is the second highest level in Germany, after the 6.5% in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. Details can be found on the page Property transfer tax in Hesse.

A good €27,000 in ancillary costs for a €250,000 purchase price is 11%. You usually pay this sum from your own capital. For a Frankfurt flat with 60 sqm at the average price of €5,670/sqm, the property transfer tax alone would be around €20,400. How the notary and land registry bill is explained in the guide Notary costs when buying property; your case is calculated by the ancillary purchase cost calculator.

06Opportunities and risks of an investment in Hesse

The labour market is solid. In September 2026, the unemployment rate in Hesse was 5.9%, nationwide 6.4%. It is higher in the large cities: Frankfurt reached 7.1% in the same month, Kassel 8.4%. Frankfurt, with over 300,000 more in-commuters than out-commuters, has a labour market that reaches far into the surrounding area. Rental markets in Offenbach, Hanau or the Main-Taunus-Kreis also benefit from this.

The risks lie primarily in prices and rules. In Frankfurt and the surrounding area, a flat is expensive in relation to the rent, and the Tenant Protection Ordinance limits increases. In Northern Hesse, prices are lower, but vacancy is higher and the population is older.

Added to this are the risks of any rented flat. A higher interest rate for follow-up financing burdens the calculation. Special levies for roofs, heating or facades affect older buildings in particular. And a change of tenant costs time and money, usually more in Northern Hesse than in Rhine-Main.

07Other locations

Cities in Hesse: Darmstadt · Frankfurt am Main · Kassel · Offenbach am Main · Wiesbaden

Neighbouring states: North Rhine-Westphalia · Lower Saxony · Thuringia · Bavaria · Baden-Württemberg · Rheinland-Palatinate

All locations in comparison: Where is an investment property worthwhile? Cities in comparison 2026 · Which federal state is suitable? All 16 in comparison

08Read on

• Condominium as an investment: advantages and disadvantages
• Taxing rental income
• Notary costs for property purchase
• Rental yield calculator
• Ancillary purchase cost calculator
• Property transfer tax in Hesse

09Sources

All sources retrieved on 13 Oct 2026.

• Federal Statistical Office, Municipal Directory, municipalities in Germany by area, population and postcode on 31 Dec 2025 and on 31 Dec 2024
• Federal Statistical Office, 16th coordinated population projection, federal states, Statistical Report (11 Dec 2025), Table 12421-b05
• Statistical Offices of the Federation and the States, 2022 Census, regional table Buildings and Dwellings (reference date 15 May 2022)
• Federal Employment Agency, Monthly report on the labour and training market, September 2026, Figure 1.14
• Hessian Ministry of Economics, Tenant protection to grow to 71 municipalities, 24 Sept 2026; Tenant Protection Ordinance, GVBl. 2020 p. 802, amended by ordinance of 12 Nov 2025
• hessenschau.de, FAQ Rent Brake, 24 Sept 2026
• Expert Committees Frankfurt am Main and Kassel: purchase prices see Investment property in Frankfurt and in Kassel; unemployment rates Frankfurt and Kassel ibid. (Employment Agencies, September 2026)
• German Notary Institute, Overview of conversion ordinances according to § 250 BauGB, as of 20 Jan 2026
• BBSR, Spatial Planning Forecast 2045: Population Forecast, BBSR Analyses KOMPAKT 04/2024
• WIBank, Housing Promotion
• § 556d BGB, § 558 BGB, § 577a BGB, § 250 BauGB
• Shares, comparisons and ancillary purchase costs: own calculation, as of 13 Oct 2026

Note: This page is general information and not investment, tax or legal advice. All figures come from the sources named or are calculation examples with disclosed assumptions, as of 13 Oct 2026. Past developments and forecasts are not a reliable indication of future results.