Price-to-rent multiplier in Berlin 2026

What the price-to-rent multiplier tells you

The price-to-rent multiplier is the purchase price divided by the annual rent, calculated without service charges. It tells you how many years of rent a buyer pays. At the Berlin average of 20.9, the purchase price of a multi-family building therefore contains 20.9 times the annual net cold rent.

If you buy to let, the multiplier tells you more than the price per square metre. It puts price and rental income side by side. The district with the highest price per square metre does not automatically have the highest multiplier. Costs, vacancies and interest are left out. The multiplier is the start of a calculation.

Sales or listings: two multipliers

There are two kinds of multiplier in circulation, and they are far apart. One is based on purchase contracts signed at the notary, the other on listings. Mixing the two leads to the wrong conclusions.

This is how we calculate it for Berlin. The median asking price across all listings is €5,789 per square metre. Divided by €189.36 of annual rent per square metre (€15.78 median asking rent times twelve), that gives 30.6. The IBB itself does not publish a multiplier. The property type, data basis and point in time differ. The gap between 30.6 and 20.9 is therefore not a discount you can negotiate.

Price-to-rent multiplier by district

Guthmann Estate publishes a sales multiplier for nine of the twelve districts, but not for Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg and Treptow-Köpenick. The calculated listing multipliers are available for all twelve districts.

Sales: Guthmann Estate, map dataset "apartment buildings" based on transaction data from the Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss), retrieved 03/11/2026 (source as of 13/10/2026); "–" means the source shows no value. Marzahn-Hellersdorf is based on 15 sales and is therefore less certain.

Listings: IBB Housing Market Report 2025, table volume, Tables 25 and 27, our own calculation. * The median purchase price here comes from a price band with no lower limit and is therefore less certain.

Compared with 2025, the source shows an increase of 0.6 for Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and 0.4 for Spandau. The sharpest falls are in Lichtenberg at minus 4.9 and Reinickendorf at minus 4.1. Lichtenberg also shows how far asking prices and sales can diverge: 34.7 calculated, 18.1 notarised. Details are on the district pages.

From 32.1 to 20.9: the trend since 2021

The average sales multiple for Berlin multi-family buildings was 2021 in 32.1, 2022 in 31.1, 2023 in 25.3, 2024 in 22.8 and 2025 in 22.4. At 20.9 in 2026 (as of 13/10/2026, 490 purchase agreements) it is, according to Guthmann Estate, the lowest since 2014 (then 19.7). We do not derive a forecast from this series.

Workings: from multiplier to yield

Divide 100 by the multiplier and you have the yield in per cent. This means one year's rent relative to the purchase price, before all costs. The technical term is gross initial yield. Conversely, 100 divided by the yield gives you the multiplier again.

• Berlin, average 20.9: 100 ÷ 20.9 = 4.78, so roughly 4.8 per cent. Guthmann Estate quotes the same value before running costs.
• Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, 24.6: 100 ÷ 24.6 = 4.07, that is around 4.1 per cent.
• Multiplier from listings, Berlin, 30.6: 100 ÷ 30.6 = 3.27, that is around 3.3 per cent.

This yield leaves out repairs, property management, lost rent, the costs of the purchase, interest and taxes. Only the rent roll of the specific building shows whether it pays off.

Multiplier and property yield rate

Valuers assess a let building by its rental income. The result is called the income value (Ertragswert). For this they need the property yield (Liegenschaftszins): the return buyers of such buildings achieve on the market. The Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss) derives it from real purchase prices. For the City zone group it lies between 3.3 and 3.9 per cent at net cold rents of €8 to €12 per square metre (reference date 31/12/2024). For 2026, the committee reports for let residential and mixed-use buildings an average ratio of purchase price to annual net rental income of 23.5 (635 sales from 2023 to 2025, reference date 31/12/2025). This is a three-year average and not directly comparable with the 20.9 average for 2026. How we combine both in a valuation is explained on the page Selling an apartment building in Berlin.

What does the multiple mean for your property? The average says little about a single building. We calculate the multiple for your property from your rent roll and compare it with the figures on this page. Start your free valuation

Sources

• Guthmann Estate, Market Intelligence Berlin, Apartment Buildings: average multiple 2021 to 2026, as of 13/10/2026; district values and sales from the map dataset on the page, data basis Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss), retrieved 03/11/2026
• Investitionsbank Berlin, IBB Housing Market Report 2025, table volume, Table 25 (asking rents by district) and Table 27 (asking prices for owner-occupied flats by price band); multipliers our own calculation
• Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss für Grundstückswerte in Berlin), property yield rates (Liegenschaftszinssätze) as at the reference date 31/12/2024, City area group
• Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss), property yields (Liegenschaftszinssätze) 2026, reference date 31/12/2025, table 12, Berlin Official Gazette No. 47 of 30/10/2026

For individual values, please also name the primary source shown next to the figure.

More figures: Berlin housing market report, Market data at a glance, Investment property in Berlin, Property valuation in Berlin.