Investment Properties in Oberhausen: Figures, Locations and an Honest Calculation

Michael Pauker · 2026-10-13

Many people know Oberhausen as a shopping destination. The CentrO in the Neue Mitte attracts visitors from all over the Ruhr area. For investors, another figure is more interesting: a used condominium from the 1970s cost an average of €1,796/sqm here in 2024 and 2025.

The low price has reasons. Oberhausen has high unemployment, more people commute out to work than in, and the state expects fewer residents by 2050. On the other hand, two out of three apartments are rented, and the vacancy rate is no higher than the state average.

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

01Oberhausen in Figures

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

02Population and Demand

Oberhausen has 213,178 residents. At the end of 2014, IT.NRW counted 209,292. The two figures are based on different censuses and are only comparable to a limited extent. The direction is nevertheless recognizable: after years of decline, the number of residents has stabilized since the mid-2010s.

For the future, the state expects a decline. According to IT.NRW, the population will fall from 213,500 in 2023 to around 203,900 in 2050, a minus of 4.5%. For 2040, the value is 97.6% of today's level.

Oberhausen is a tenant city. In the 2022 census, 65.8% of the apartments were rented, only 31.9% were occupied by the owners themselves. 44.9% of the households consisted of one person. The average net cold rent of all rental apartments was €5.73/sqm, significantly below the state average of €6.82/sqm.

Little is being built. In 2024, 200 apartments were completed, an average of 266 per year in the ten years before that. The stock has grown by 2.4% in ten years.

03Economy and Labour Market

Oberhausen grew big with coal and steel. The mines and blast furnaces have disappeared; on their sites, among other things, the Neue Mitte with the CentrO shopping centre and event venues has been created. In addition, there is still industry, primarily mechanical and plant engineering with companies such as MAN Energy Solutions and Bilfinger. 22.6% of the employees work in the manufacturing sector.

As of 31.12.2024, 70,812 employees subject to social insurance worked in the city. That is few for a city with over 200,000 residents. 48,565 Oberhausen residents commuted out to work, only 40,129 people came from outside. Many residents therefore work in the neighbouring cities of the Ruhr area.

In September 2026, 13,069 people were registered as unemployed, 3.5% more than a year earlier. The rate was 11.6%. Three out of four unemployed people were cared for by the job centre, i.e. in basic security. 14.5% of the residents received minimum security benefits in 2024. For landlords, this means: part of the tenants receive benefits, the job centre then takes over the rent. This makes payments predictable, but limits the rent level to the city's appropriateness limits.

04Rents, Purchase Prices and Rental Yield

The Oberhausen Expert Committee registered 549 sales of condominiums in 2025, including 29 new builds. Because the number of well-evaluable cases is small, it summarizes 2024 and 2025. Apartments from the 1970s cost an average of €1,796/sqm, from the 1980s €1,974/sqm, from the 1990s €2,317/sqm. New apartments in 2025 were between €3,073 and €4,140/sqm.

Since 2026, there has also been a real estate reference value in Oberhausen. For an 80 sqm apartment, built in 1995, in a medium location, it specifies €2,455/sqm as of 01.01.2026, 6% more than a year earlier. The value fluctuates: in 2023 it was already €2,429/sqm, in 2024 €2,244/sqm.

Most important for investors is the evaluation of let apartments. In 19 cases, the committee knew the actual rent: an average of €7.52/sqm with a purchase price of €1,881/sqm. As a gross income multiplier, i.e. purchase price divided by annual rent, it specifies 20.3 for let apartments.

The purchase price factor results from the purchase price and rent. The reciprocal is the gross rental yield.

Remarkable is the small distance between actual rent and offer rent. In the event of a change of tenant, there is therefore little more to be gained in Oberhausen. The gross yield of around 5% results primarily from the low purchase price. Check your own figure with the rental yield calculator.

05Districts at a Glance

Oberhausen has three districts: Alt-Oberhausen in the south, Sterkrade in the north and Osterfeld in the east. The expert committee does not publish prices or sales figures per district. However, it distinguishes between residential locations: an apartment in a simple location is around 5% cheaper in the model than in a medium one, in a good location around 14% more expensive.

Which residential location an address has is classified by the expert committee according to noise, proximity to commercial areas, green space and connections. For your calculation, the individual street counts more than the district in the end.

06Rules for Landlords in Oberhausen

North Rhine-Westphalia has introduced the rent brake and lowered capping limit in 57 municipalities. Oberhausen is not one of them. For you, this means:

• No rent brake: for a new letting, the rent level is freely negotiable. Limits are set by the prohibition of rent gouging (Section 5 Economic Offences Act) and rent usury.
• Capping limit 20%: in the current tenancy, the rent may rise by a maximum of 20% in three years, and only up to the local customary comparative rent according to the rental mirror.

In practice, the solvency of the tenants and, in the case of households receiving benefits, the rent limit of the job centre limits the rent in Oberhausen rather than the law.

07Example Calculation: A Let Apartment in Oberhausen

Let's take Sandra, 47, single, employed with a taxable income of €60,000. She buys a let condominium with 70 sqm, built in 1976, in a medium location in Sterkrade. The purchase price of €125,720 corresponds to the average of the expert committee for these construction years. The rent of €7.52/sqm is at the level that let apartments actually bring according to the expert committee. The name is fictitious, the figures are a calculation example and not a forecast.

In this example, Sandra pays around €77 per month out of her own pocket, after tax. Of this, €157 flows into the repayment, i.e. into her own assets. Considered without repayment, a surplus of around €81 per month remains after tax.

What can tip the calculation? In Oberhausen, primarily vacancy and maintenance. A house from the 1970s needs new windows, insulation or heating sooner or later, and the costs are borne by the owners' association. How rental income is taxed is explained in our article on taxing rental income.

A higher rent brings little here because offer rents are hardly above actual rents. Interest and vacancy act three to four times as strongly.

For comparison: a new-build apartment in Oberhausen

What changes if Sandra buys a newly built apartment instead of the used one? The expert committee does not specify an average for new-build apartments in 2025, but a range from €3,073 to €4,140/sqm. We calculate with the middle, €3,607/sqm, and 45 sqm. This results in €162,315. She pays land transfer tax (€10,550) and notary and land registry fees (€3,027) from her own capital, totaling €13,578. For the rent, we use the offer rent for new builds that NRW.BANK shows for 2024: €13.50/sqm.

Compared to the used apartment, the depreciation in the first year is good three times as high (€6,998 instead of €2,171), and for maintenance in a new house, there is usually less in the first few years. The square metre costs twice as much, the gross rental yield of around 4.5% is nevertheless only slightly below the used apartment (5.0%). Before tax, Sandra pays around €163 more per month here; after tax, a small surplus of around €40 remains.

This result depends on two assumptions. The new-build offer rent of €13.50/sqm is far above anything that let apartments in Oberhausen bring today, and there are only few new builds as a comparison. With €11.50/sqm rent, the surplus becomes an additional payment of around €17 per month after tax, at the upper end of the price range (€4,140/sqm) one of around €7. Because degressive depreciation is calculated each year from the smaller residual value, the tax savings also fall in subsequent years. A rent brake does not apply in Oberhausen. For apartments that were first used and rented after 01.10.2014, it would not be applicable anyway under Section 556f BGB.

08Opportunities and Risks in Oberhausen

There are verifiable points in favour of Oberhausen. Older apartments cost around €1,800/sqm, and let apartments bring an average of €7.52/sqm according to the expert committee. This results in a gross rental yield of around 5%. Two out of three apartments are rented, the vacancy rate is only slightly above the state average, and there is no rent brake.

On the other hand, there are equally clear points:

• Labour market: 11.6% unemployment with an upward trend compared to the previous year, three quarters of the unemployed in basic security.
• Few jobs locally: More residents commute out than employees come in.
• Forecast: IT.NRW expects 4.5% fewer residents by 2050.
• Little rent increase scope: Offer rents are hardly above actual rents.
• Thin data basis: The average prices per year of construction are based on few purchase cases. Check every offer with the real estate reference value.
• Old stock: Many houses date from the post-war period and the 1970s; renovations can trigger special levies.

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