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

Moe Afonso · 2026-10-13

You are considering buying and renting out an apartment in Stuttgart. The argument is obvious. Rents are among the highest in Germany, and apartments are scarce. A well-maintained apartment here usually finds a tenant quickly.

The other side is just as much part of the picture. Stuttgart again lost residents in 2025, the auto industry is cutting jobs, and an existing apartment costs over €4,200 per square meter on average. At these prices, less remains of the high rent than many expect.

We therefore work with official figures: city statistics, Census, Expert Committee, Employment Agency. In the end, we calculate a rented apartment before and after taxes, plus a new build apartment for comparison.

01Stuttgart in Figures

The table pools the most important data. Each row has its source and status.

A good two-thirds of occupied apartments in Stuttgart are rented. For a landlord, this means: demand is mostly directed at the rental market, and tenants have few alternatives.

02Population and Demand

Stuttgart is not growing currently. At the end of 2025, 605,663 people were registered with their primary residence, 3,671 fewer than a year earlier. More people moved away than moved in, and more died than were born. Since 2019, the city has lost about 8,900 residents according to the registry. Many move to the surrounding area, to Ludwigsburg, Esslingen, or Böblingen.

The State Statistical Office sees this differently in the long term. In its 2025 projection, the Stuttgart city district will receive the strongest increase in the entire state by 2045, +5.5%. This was calculated with figures up to the end of 2023; the declines of 2024 and 2025 are not included. A forecast is not a promise, and here it's contradicted by current development.

Why do rents nevertheless remain high? Because too little is being built. In 2024, only 1,321 apartments were completed in Stuttgart, 30% fewer than the year before. The number of private households rose slightly despite the falling population, primarily through more single-person households. Almost every second household today consists of one person.

03Economy and Labor Market

Stuttgart is the workplace for an entire region. On June 30, 2025, 443,058 social security-covered employees had their workplace in the city. Only 266,273 employees also lived here. Daily, about 276,600 people commute in, and about 99,900 commute out. The balance of a good 176,000 people is among the highest in Germany.

The labor market is shaped by vehicle manufacturing and suppliers. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are headquartered in the city, Bosch in the direct neighborhood. In addition, there are insurance companies, banks, the state administration, and higher education institutions. Stuttgart University alone has 20,536 students.

Precisely this dependency is the greatest risk. According to press reports, Porsche wants to cut a total of around 8,900 jobs in the Stuttgart region by 2029; Bosch and Mercedes-Benz have their own savings programs. In the Stuttgart agency district, the number of employees fell by 1.6% in March 2026 compared to the previous year. The city's unemployment rate was 7.0% in September 2026, the same as a year earlier and significantly above the state average of 4.7%.

For your apartment, this means: demand comes from many directions, including administration, nursing, and universities. A small, well-connected apartment that fits young professionals, commuters, and students depends less on a single corporation.

04Rents, Purchase Prices, and Rental Yield

Stuttgart has two rental worlds. The qualified rent index 2025/2026 shows an average of €11.15/m² cold. it reflects the rents of recent years and applies from Jan 1, 2025, to Dec 31, 2026. Those who read advertisements, on the other hand, see an average of €15.51/m², according to the municipal report Stuttgart Housing Market 2025. For you, the rent index (Mietspiegel) counts primarily, because it limits rent increases and, via rent control, also the rent for new rentals.

For purchase prices, we rely on the 2026 Property Market Report of the Expert Committee. It evaluates all purchase contracts of the year 2025. In resale, 3,122 apartments changed owners, on average for €4,226/m² without a parking space. New build apartments cost €8,236/m², with only 162 sold. Prices moved largely sideways in 2025; in the first half of 2026, the average in resale was €4,153/m².

The price-to-rent ratio (Kaufpreisfaktor) says how many annual rents the purchase price costs. Around 32 annual rents are realistic in Stuttgart if the apartment is rented at a rent index level. The gross rental yield (Bruttomietrendite) of 4.4% with the asking rent is only achieved if you rent out anew and rent control allows this rent. For an average apartment, that would be at most about €12.30/m², i.e., the rent index value plus 10%.

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

05Overview of City Districts

Stuttgart has 23 city districts. The Expert Committee reports purchase prices per district, most recently in the quarterly report for the first half of 2026. The values are preliminary and partly based on few sales.

The table classifies the districts. The descriptions are qualitative; the city does not officially report rents per district.

The gap between Nord and Zuffenhausen is about €1,800/m². Rents differ less strongly. It follows: in cheaper districts, the gross yield is often higher, but you must check the building and the tenant structure more carefully there.

06Rules for Landlords in Stuttgart

Stuttgart is a regulated rental market. The most important rules expire at the end of 2026; the state wants to extend them.

• Rent control (Mietpreisbremse): For a new rental, the rent may be at most 10% above the local comparable rent. The state ordinance applies until Dec 31, 2026. Exemptions include apartments first used and rented after Oct 1, 2014, and the first rental after extensive modernization. You may continue to charge a higher previous rent.
• Rent increase cap (Kappungsgrenze): In ongoing tenancies, the rent may rise by at most 15% in three years, not 20%. Also applies until Dec 31, 2026.
• Planned extension: The state government released drafts for the period from Jan 1, 2027, to Dec 31, 2029, for consultation on Sept 22, 2026; Stuttgart is still included. As of Oct 13, 2026, nothing had been promulgated yet.
• Termination notice period: If a rented apartment is converted into ownership, the buyer can only terminate for personal use after five years.
• Ban on misappropriation (Zweckentfremdungsverbot): Since 2016, you need a permit if you use living space permanently as a vacation home, for commercial purposes, or through long vacancy. A new statute has been in effect since Jan 1, 2026; according to press reports, violations can be punished with up to €100,000.
• Conservation statutes (Erhaltungssatzungen): In individual areas, the city protects the residential population via conservation statutes. There, renovations require a permit. You can find out whether an apartment is in such an area at the Urban Planning Office.

When buying in Baden-Württemberg, you pay 5.0% property transfer tax. Additionally, there are around 1.3 to 1.8% for notary and land registry and potentially a broker. The closing costs calculator calculates your own closing costs.

07Example Calculation: a Rented Apartment in Stuttgart

Let's take Jonas. He is employed, single, has a taxable income of €80,000 and buys a rented two-room apartment with 60 m² in a building from the 1970s. He pays €4,200/m², about the average in resale in 2025. The tenant pays €11.15/m² cold, exactly the average of the rent index. The name is fictional, the figures are a calculation example and not a forecast.

Jonas thus pays around €420 extra per month. At the same time, he repays €420 per month. This money is not gone; it reduces his residual debt. Without repayment, the apartment would be almost exactly cost-covering after taxes.

How do the tax savings arise? Jonas may deduct interest, depreciation (AfA), and the administrative share of the service charges from the rent. For a building from the 1970s, a depreciation of 2% per year applies. We set the building share at only 65% because land is expensive in Stuttgart.

The example shows what Stuttgart is for investors. A tight market where you buy at around 31 annual rents and build wealth through repayment. The apartment does not bring a surplus from the first month with full financing. You can read about how rental income is taxed in the guide taxing rental income.

For comparison: a new build apartment in Stuttgart

Suppose Jonas instead buys a newly built apartment with 45 m² from a developer and rents it out for the first time. According to the Expert Committee, new build apartments cost an average of €8,236/m² in 2025 without a parking space. As rent, we set €18.25/m², the average new build asking rent in January 2026 according to a market analysis by QUIS. Income, interest, and repayment remain as above.

Before taxes, Jonas pays around €1,030 extra per month for the new build, after taxes around €370 instead of around €420. However, he also repays around €620 instead of €420 per month. The depreciation in the first year is around four times as high as for the existing stock, and a new building usually requires less maintenance in the first few years. In return, the square meter costs almost twice as much, and the gross rental yield is around 2.7% instead of around 3.2%. Rent control does not apply to the new build apartment (§ 556f BGB), but the increase cap for later increases does. Because degressive depreciation calculates from the residual value, it decreases every year; the AfA calculator shows the progression.

08Chances and Risks

What speaks for Stuttgart can be proven. Equally what speaks against it.

Chances

• Very tight housing market, only around 1.7% of the stock was available at short notice in 2022.
• High purchasing power and a large labor market with high-quality jobs.
• High influx of commuters, which secures demand for well-connected apartments.
• New builds allow high tax deductions in the first few years via degressive depreciation.

Risks

• Sector risk: The strong dependence on the automotive industry (Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bosch) and current job cuts.
• Regulation: Rent control and misappropriation statutes limit the potential for rent increases and alternative uses.
• Population: The city has lost residents in recent years; the positive forecast by the state contradicts current development.
• Purchase price ratio: With about 32 annual rents (rent index) or 23 annual rents (asking rent), the entry level is very high.