Buy-to-let properties in Ulm: Figures, locations and an honest calculation

Kevin Celentano · 2026-10-13

Ulm is not a city that investors have on their radar just because they have heard of it. It is more likely to appear because someone lays the figures side by side: low unemployment, growth, a university with a hospital, and a housing market where hardly anything is vacant.

At the same time, Ulm is more expensive than many expect. An existing apartment costs an average of €3,750/sqm, a new one almost twice as much. And rent control (Mietpreisbremse) applies.

We have compiled the official figures and, at the end, calculate an existing and a new apartment, each with the monthly extra payment before and after tax.

01Ulm in figures

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

02Population and demand

At the end of 2025, 130,288 people lived in Ulm, about 400 more than a year earlier. Over ten years, the city has grown significantly: In the update from the State Statistical Office, the population rose by 9.0% from 2013 to 2023. Ulm is thus one of the cities in the state that has grown continuously over a long period.

Projections for the future are also positive, albeit to varying degrees. The State Statistical Office expects a 5.1% increase for the city district of Ulm by 2045, the second-strongest growth of all 44 districts in the state after Stuttgart. The Wegweiser Kommune of the Bertelsmann Foundation calculates more cautiously with 2.4% from 2020 to 2040. Both calculations date from a time of high immigration.

In the 2022 census, 43.7% of Ulm households lived alone. This is less than in the large university cities; Ulm is more a city of families and professionals. 63.8% of apartments were let, while 35.2% were occupied by their owners.

A special case for Ulm is its neighbouring city. Neu-Ulm is located directly opposite on the other side of the Danube, but belongs to Bavaria. Both cities have a common rental mirror and a common housing market. For tenants, the border is hardly noticeable, but for buyers it is, as the section on rules shows.

03Economy and job market

Ulm is both an industrial city and a science city. The city is home to the copper processor Wieland, the pharmaceutical manufacturer ratiopharm, which belongs to the Teva Group, as well as plants and development centres for several automotive and defence suppliers. In addition, there is the University Hospital, the Bundeswehr Hospital and the Science City on the Oberer Eselsberg with the university, research institutes and companies.

In the district of the Employment Agency Ulm, which also includes the Alb-Donau district and the Biberach district, more employees subject to social security contributions worked in 2025 than ever before: 257,022, 1.1% more than in the previous year. Ulm is the centre of this region, with many employees commuting from the surrounding area and from Neu-Ulm.

The unemployment rate in the city was 4.4% in September 2026, and 3.4% in the entire agency district. This is low. However, the agency does not like the direction: in the district, 11.3% more people were unemployed than a year ago. It points to the tense situation of many companies. A region strongly influenced by industry feels a weakness in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors faster than an administrative city.

Almost 10,000 students are enrolled at the University of Ulm, plus the Ulm Technical University and other colleges. Students are important in Ulm, but not defining. The larger part of demand comes from professionals.

04Rents, purchase prices and rental yield

Ulm and Neu-Ulm have a common qualified rental mirror (Mietspiegel). It is valid from 12/11/2025 to 11/11/2027, and the average comparable rent is €9.82/sqm. In the 2022 census, the average rent for all current contracts in Ulm was €8.48/sqm. New listings are significantly higher: the real estate association IVD Süd quotes €14.60/sqm for existing stock and €16.70/sqm for new builds in good residential locations in spring 2026.

Regarding purchase prices, there are three sources that differ. The expert committee evaluates the actual purchase contracts. For 2025, it arrives at an average of €3,750/sqm for existing apartments with 40 to 140 sqm, 1.7% more than in 2024. In 2022, it was still €4,258/sqm; in 2023, prices fell by 14.3%. Sparkasse Ulm quotes €4,011/sqm in its residential market report, and the IVD €3,820/sqm for good locations.

The situation is different for new builds. The expert committee reports an initial sale price of €7,335/sqm for 2025, 12.9% more than in the previous year. At the same time, the number of initial sales fell by 35% to just 64. An average based on so few sales can be strongly influenced by individual projects.

The purchase price factor can be calculated from the purchase price and rent. It tells you how many years' net cold rent the purchase price costs. The reciprocal is the gross rental yield.

With a rent at the rental mirror level, the gross yield is around 3%. The 4.6% from the IVD values requires a rent of €14.60/sqm. Due to rent control, this is only achievable for an existing apartment if the comparable rent for the specific apartment is correspondingly high or if the previous tenant already paid that much. You can check your own figure with the rental yield calculator.

05Districts at a glance

The expert committee divides Ulm into two zones. Zone A includes, among others, Mitte, Oststadt and Söflingen, while Zone B includes Wiblingen and the outer localities. Sparkasse Ulm quotes prices per district based on offer and transaction data: the most expensive is Mitte at €4,447/sqm, the cheapest Wiblingen at €3,455/sqm.

Since 2018, tram line 2 has connected Kuhberg with the city centre and the Science City. And since the end of 2022, the new Wendlingen–Ulm line has significantly shortened the travel time to Stuttgart. Both have improved the connection of locations that were previously considered peripheral.

06Rules for landlords in Ulm

Ulm is a regulated rental market. The state ordinances expire at the end of 2026, but the state intends to extend them.

• Rent control (Mietpreisbremse): For a new tenancy, the rent may not exceed the local comparable rent according to the rental mirror by more than 10%. Exceptions apply to apartments first used and let after 01/10/2014 and the first letting after extensive modernisation. You may continue to charge a higher previous rent.
• Rent increase cap (Kappungsgrenze): In an existing tenancy, the rent may rise by a maximum of 15% in three years and never above the comparable rent.
• Planned extension: Both ordinances apply until 31/12/2026. On 22/09/2026, the state government submitted drafts for the period from 01/01/2027 to 31/12/2029 for consultation; Ulm continues to be included. As of 13/10/2026, nothing had been officially promulgated yet.
• Notice period restriction (Kündigungssperrfrist): If a let apartment is converted into a condominium, the buyer can only give notice for personal use (Eigenbedarf) after five years.

When buying in Ulm, you pay 5.0% real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer). In addition, there are notary and land registry costs of around 1.6% to 1.8% of the purchase price if you finance, and an agent depending on the property. Your purchase costs can be calculated by the purchase cost calculator, and the positions at the notary are explained in our article on notary costs.

07Calculation example: a let apartment in Ulm

Let's take Stefan, 44, single, engineer, with a taxable income of €65,000. He buys a let condominium with 65 sqm at the average price determined by the expert committee for 2025. The rent corresponds to the average of the rental mirror. The name is fictional, the figures are a calculation example and not a forecast.

In this example, Stefan pays an extra €326 per month after tax. €305 of this is repayment and builds his wealth. Without repayment, a small minus of around €22 per month remains after tax.

With an income of €65,000, Stefan saves around 39 cents in tax for every euro of loss from letting. This helps, but does not cover the gap. How rental income is taxed is explained in our article on taxing rental income.

As in most cities with rent control, the interest rate moves the calculation more than the rent. Those who can finance cheaply benefit more in Ulm than from any rent increase.

For comparison: a new-build apartment in Ulm

What changes if Stefan buys a newly built apartment? We assume 45 sqm at the initial sale price determined by the expert committee for 2025: €7,335/sqm. This results in €330,075. Stefan again pays real estate transfer tax (€16,504) and notary and land registry costs (€5,328) from equity, totalling €21,832. For rent, we set €16.70/sqm, the figure from IVD Süd for new-build apartments in good residential locations in spring 2026. This is a market figure, not an official one, and rather at the upper end.

Compared to the existing apartment, the depreciation in the first year is more than three times as high (€14,009 instead of €3,882), and in a new house there is usually less maintenance in the first few years. On the other hand, the square metre costs almost twice as much, and the gross rental yield drops to around 2.7% instead of 3.1%. Stefan pays an extra €197 per month after tax here, but €760 before tax. The tax savings decrease in subsequent years because the declining-balance depreciation is calculated from the increasingly smaller residual value. If the actual rent is below the IVD value, the extra payment increases accordingly. Rent control permanently does not apply to the apartment according to § 556f BGB because it is first used and let after 01/10/2014.

08Opportunities and risks in Ulm

There are demonstrable points in favour of Ulm. The city has been growing for years, and the state expects this to continue. Short-term vacancies are almost non-existent. Unemployment is low, and demand comes from industry, clinics and science. Existing apartments are cheaper today than at their peak in 2022 following the price decline in 2023.

In contrast, there are equally clear points:

• Low gross yield: With rental mirror rent, it is around 3%, with a purchase price factor over 30.
• Regulated rents: Rent control and the 15% increase cap limit the scope for existing apartments.
• Industrial dependence: Unemployment in the agency district has risen by 11.3% within a year.
• New-build prices: The initial sale price rose by 12.9% in 2025, with only 64 sales. One year is not a trend.
• Old stock: Almost 60% of apartments were built before 1980; renovations can trigger special levies (Sonderumlagen).

09Read more

• Step-by-step guide to buying property
• Real estate transfer tax in Baden-Württemberg
• Rental mirror in the glossary
• Qualified rental mirror in the glossary

10Sources

All sources accessed on 13/10/2026.

• Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Municipal Directory (population as of 31/12/2025)
• State Statistical Office Baden-Württemberg: New regionalised population forecast until 2045 (06/05/2025)
• Wegweiser Kommune (Bertelsmann Foundation): Population forecast Ulm
• Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder, 2022 Census, database (households, vacancy, rents)
• Employment Agency Ulm: Job market report September 2026
• City of Ulm: Qualified Rental Mirror 2025 for Ulm and Neu-Ulm
• Expert Committee for Property Values in the City of Ulm: Property Market Report 2026 (data for 2025)
• Sparkasse Ulm: Residential Market Report 2025
• IVD Süd: CityReport Ulm/Neu-Ulm spring 2026
• Rental Price Limitation Ordinance BW (GBl. 2025 No. 144) and Cap Ordinance BW (GBl. 2025 No. 145)
• Own calculations, status 13/10/2026

Note: This guide provides general information and does not replace legal or tax advice. All figures are example calculations with disclosed assumptions, status 13/10/2026.