By the end of 2024, Germany recorded around 43.8 million apartments and housing units, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This marks an increase of 0.5 percent, or 238,500 units, compared to the end of 2023. Looking over the longer term, the housing stock has grown by 6.1 percent, or 2.5 million units, since 2014.
During the same ten-year period, the total residential floor space expanded by 9.1 percent to approximately 4.1 billion square meters. This indicates that not only has the number of homes risen, but on average, German apartments have also become larger.
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Of the total 43.8 million dwellings at the end of 2024, approximately 42.9 million (98 percent) were located in residential buildings. Within this category, multi-family houses accounted for the largest share, housing 23.5 million apartments, or 54.8 percent of all homes. Germany currently has 3.5 million multi-family buildings, each containing an average of 6.7 apartments.
Single-family houses made up just under one-third of the housing stock, with 13.5 million units (31.4 percent). Two-family houses contained an additional 5.5 million apartments (12.8 percent) across 2.7 million buildings. A further 400,000 units (1 percent) were located in residential facilities such as student dormitories, shelters for refugees, or housing for the homeless.
Not all homes are located within residential properties. By the end of 2024, around 890,000 apartments (2 percent) were situated in non-residential buildings. These include accommodations such as caretaker apartments in schools or housing above commercial premises in city centers.
The development of total residential floor space, together with the average floor area per person, highlights broader trends in Germany’s housing structure. While these figures do not reveal how space is distributed among households, or the extent of vacancy rates, they serve as useful indicators for long-term comparisons.
As of the end of 2024, the average apartment measured 94.0 square meters, while the average living space per person reached 49.2 square meters. This is a notable increase compared to a decade earlier. In 2014, the average dwelling size was smaller by 2.5 square meters, and the average space per person was lower by 2.7 square meters.
Between 2014 and 2024, the total number of dwellings grew slightly faster than the population. As a result, the ratio of residents to apartments has declined. At the end of 2014, there were nearly two people per dwelling. By the end of 2024, this figure had fallen to just under 1.9 people per home.
This shift reflects the gradual increase in available living space per resident across Germany. It also highlights the structural trend toward larger apartments and smaller household sizes, a pattern visible over the past decade.
While the overall number of apartments rose by 6.1 percent between 2014 and 2024, the total residential floor space grew more strongly at 9.1 percent. This difference shows that newly built or modernized apartments tend to be larger than older units.
By the end of 2024, the average apartment size of 94.0 square meters represented a 2.8 percent increase compared to 2014. Similarly, the average living space per person increased by 5.8 percent during the same period. These gains underline how both housing supply and space per inhabitant have expanded, even as demand continues to evolve.
Germany’s housing landscape has continued to expand steadily, with moderate annual growth and more significant changes over the past decade. The increase in the number of dwellings, combined with larger average floor areas, indicates a long-term trend toward more spacious living. With 43.8 million homes and 4.1 billion square meters of residential floor space recorded at the end of 2024, the country has seen both its housing stock and average per-person living space rise, reflecting shifts in demographics and building trends.
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