Housing Costs Consume Over a Quarter of Germans' Incomes, Exceed EU Average

New data reveals German households spent 25.2% of their income on housing in 2023, prompting calls for policy reform to address affordability.

German households allocated an average of 25.2% of their disposable income to housing costs in 2023, up from 24.5% in 2022.
This figure is significantly higher than the EU average of 19.7%, with only Greece, Luxembourg, and Denmark reporting higher percentages.
BSW Chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht criticized the trend as a 'poverty program,' citing worsening affordability under the current government.
Wagenknecht proposed measures including a nationwide rent cap, expanding nonprofit housing, and increasing public housing construction with subsidized loans.
The data underscores disparities in housing affordability across Europe, with countries like France and Austria maintaining lower housing cost burdens.