Buy-to-let properties in Thuringia: Cities, figures and rules 2026

Romolo Marini · 2026-10-13

You are looking for a rented flat as a capital investment and are considering Thuringia because prices there are low. A condominium here cost an average of €137,000 in 2024. The national average was €246,000. Since January 2024, the real estate transfer tax has also fallen from 6.5% to 5.0%.

However, a low price is not yet an argument. In Thuringia, almost every thirteenth flat stood empty in the 2022 census, and the state loses inhabitants every year. At the same time, there are two cities, Erfurt and Jena, where the rent control applies because flats are scarce.

For you as an investor, this means: Thuringia is not a uniform market. This page shows with official figures where demand holds and where the risk lies.

01Thuringia in figures

The following table summarises the most important data for capital investors. Every figure has a source and a status.

Two figures you should keep in mind: the vacancy rate is almost twice as high as in the rest of Germany (4.3%), and two-thirds of the empty flats have been vacant for more than a year. This is not a short tenant change, but a structural surplus.

02Population: Cities hold their own, the countryside shrinks

At the end of 2025, 2,078,946 people lived in Thuringia. That was 21,331 fewer than a year earlier, the sharpest decline in 17 years. It was almost entirely due to the fact that more people died than were born. Migration did not compensate for this in 2025.

All districts lost inhabitants, but to varying degrees. The decline was smallest in Jena (−0.3%), Gera (−0.5%), and Weimar (−0.6%). Suhl lost 2.0%, the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt 1.7%.

The regional forecast of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) shows where this could lead. For Erfurt, Jena, and Weimar, it expects around 4% fewer inhabitants by 2045 than in 2022. For Gera, it is 18%; for the districts of Greiz, Altenburger Land, Kyffhäuserkreis, and Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, 22% each.

The message for investors is clear: in Thuringia, the location determines more than in almost any West German state whether a flat remains rentable in the long term.

03The most important cities for investors in Thuringia

Thuringia has only two major cities. Erfurt and Jena carry the majority of demand for rental flats; Weimar benefits from its location between the two. Gera and Suhl are counter-examples with high vacancy rates.

04Purchase prices and rents in Thuringia

For purchase prices, we use data from the Committees of Valuation Experts. They evaluate all notarised purchase contracts, i.e., prices actually paid.

The average price per sold condominium in Thuringia in 2024 was €137,000. Only Saxony-Anhalt was lower at €135,000. For new-build flats, Thuringia had the lowest median of all states at around €3,400 per sqm, with Erfurt as an outlier at €5,800 per sqm. For used flats, the report shows Jena with around €2,900 and Erfurt with around €2,190 per sqm.

In the countryside, prices continue to fall, but so do rents. In the districts, asking rents in 2025 were mostly between €5.70 (Greiz) and €8.20 (Weimarer Land). A high calculated yield in a district with 10% vacancy is therefore worth less than it appears.

05Rules for landlords in Thuringia

As a landlord in Thuringia, you have a lot of leeway outside of Erfurt and Jena. The rent control only applies in these two cities, currently until 31 Dec 2027. For a new rental, the rent there may be at most 10% above the local comparative rent.

The capping limit is also only lowered in Erfurt and Jena. There, you may increase the rent in an ongoing contract by a maximum of 15% within three years; the ordinance applies until 30 Sept 2029. In the rest of the state, it is 20%.

There is no conversion ban according to Section 250 BauGB in Thuringia. A rental flat may therefore be converted into a condominium without a permit.