Younger people are more likely to struggle than older people: only one in ten people are dissatisfied with their own apartment

Younger people are more likely to have trouble than older people
Only one in ten people are dissatisfied with their own apartment

May 4, 2024, 12:23 a.m

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Citizens looking for accommodation often complain about a lack of accommodation and high rents. The situation is obviously completely different for people who already have an apartment. A survey shows that fewer than one in ten people see any reason to complain.

According to a survey, the majority of German citizens agree with their living situation: 47 percent said they were “very satisfied” and 43 percent said they were “satisfied” with their apartment and its surroundings. Only nine percent were less or not at all satisfied, according to a representative Forsa survey commissioned by the Editorial Network Germany (RND). Younger people, low earners and tenants were more likely to be dissatisfied. Respondents who lived in their own homes and in very small communities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants were most likely to be very satisfied.

Among those surveyed who rent, 67 percent consider their rent to be reasonable. 26 percent find it too high. Three percent said they felt the rent they were currently paying for their apartment was too low. Of the renters, 74 percent have no plans to purchase home ownership in the future. Only four percent intend to build a house in the future and 13 percent intend to buy a house. 7 percent intend to buy an apartment.

If the respondents could choose, about a quarter of them would prefer to live in a small community with up to 5,000 residents (26 percent), in a community with between 5,000 and 20,000 residents (23 percent), or in a medium-sized city with up to to 100,000 inhabitants (24 percent). 13 percent would prefer to live in a large city with up to 500,000 inhabitants, and another 12 percent would prefer to live in a metropolis with more than 500,000 inhabitants.

Desire to move to a smaller community

Especially among residents of very small communities, there is the greatest correspondence between desire and reality: 76 percent of them stated that they would like to live in such a community with up to 5,000 residents. Of those surveyed in metropolises, 55 percent said their wishes and reality matched. For respondents from other local classes, the percentage was between 41 and 50 percent. Those who prefer a different community size than their current one would mostly like to live in a smaller community than they do now.

For most respondents, the journey to work should not be longer than 20 kilometers: 49 percent of those surveyed who are not yet retired said they would accept this maximum distance. For 25 percent, up to 50 kilometers would be acceptable. 6 percent said they would travel more than 50 kilometers to get to work. However, 12 percent would only accept up to 10 kilometers, another 6 percent would only accept up to 5 kilometers. Overall, West Germans are more likely than East Germans and residents of smaller communities to be more likely than city dwellers to consider further distances to be acceptable. 1019 German citizens were interviewed for the representative Forsa survey. The survey took place in April 2024. The statistical error tolerance is +/- 3 percentage points.

However, the situation in Germany is completely different for those looking for accommodation. Many people are having a hard time due to high rents and the lack of apartments on the real estate market. More than one in two people (54.4 percent) have been looking for a new home for longer than a year, according to a study by the Internet platform ImmoScout24 at the end of April. The total number of active search orders is increasing throughout Germany – and with it the competition. For rent seekers in particular, there is less chance of finding what meets their expectations in terms of location, size and price.