Property in 2026 – why home ownership is coming back into focus

A property is rarely a decision for a single year.

Anyone buying a flat or a house usually thinks in decades.

That is precisely why it is worth taking a perspective on the property market that goes beyond individual headlines.

In 2026, we see a market that is gaining momentum again after the exceptional changes of recent years.

This is now also reflected in the official figures.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, residential property prices in Germany in the first quarter of 2026 were on average 1.4 per cent higher than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, they rose by 0.3 per cent.

That is not an overheated price surge.

And that is precisely where something positive lies.

Moderate development can be a sign that buyers and sellers are meeting again on a more realistic level.

As a result, properties are once again being valued more strongly on the basis of the factors that really matter in the long term:

Location, quality, energy efficiency, floor plan and usability.

At the same time, activity in new construction is also picking up again.

In May 2026, around 21,000 flats were approved in Germany. That was 24.7 per cent more than in May of the previous year.

From January to May, a total of around 104,700 flats were approved – an increase of 15.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.

A particularly marked revival was seen in new multi-family buildings.

Of course, a building permit does not turn into a finished flat overnight.

Nevertheless, such figures show that more projects are once again being prepared and initiated.

For people considering home ownership, this creates an interesting situation.

There is more movement again – without the market being marked by a euphoria in which decisions have to be made within a few hours.

Many buyers today are taking their time more deliberately.

They compare floor plans.

They look into energy costs.

They check funding options.

And they ask themselves, more than before, whether a property will still suit their life in ten or twenty years.

We consider this a healthy development.

Because a good property is not convincing because one fears not being able to buy it tomorrow.

It is convincing because location, quality and life planning fit together.

In the Rhine-Main region in particular, housing remains a special commodity.

Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg, Hofheim and the surrounding towns combine strong economic locations, jobs, infrastructure and a high quality of life.

At the same time, suitable plots and well-located residential space are not available in unlimited supply.

This combination means that high-quality residential properties can remain in demand over the long term.

For owner-occupiers, of course, something else also plays a role.

A property of one's own cannot be explained solely in terms of returns or price indices.

It can mean a degree of independence.

The ability to design rooms according to one's own ideas.

Planning certainty for a family.

A garden for the children.

Or simply the feeling of coming home and knowing: this is our place.

Home ownership also remains interesting for investors.

Residential property is a real asset with concrete use.

An investment decision should of course always be assessed on the basis of the individual property. But especially long-term-oriented investors value property partly because of its combination of substance, usability and potential ongoing returns.

The current market increasingly rewards quality.

An energy-efficient new-build flat with a good floor plan is viewed differently from a property with a high need for refurbishment.

A house in a well-functioning location is assessed differently from a building where only a low price is meant to be convincing.

We see this as positive.

Because long-term property quality is not created through short-term marketing promises.

It is created through planning.

In our own projects, we find that buyers today ask very concrete questions.

How is it heated?

How high is the energy demand?

How flexible is the floor plan?

Which materials are used?

What does the surrounding area look like?

What options do I have when it comes to fittings?

These questions show that prospective buyers are not less interested in property.

They are more deliberate in their interest.

And this is precisely what opens up opportunities for good projects.

2026 may therefore be less a year of a spectacular property boom.

Perhaps it is something more valuable:

a year in which home ownership is once again viewed with more calm, quality and long-term perspective.

Anyone who has been thinking about their own property for some time will find an environment today in which it can be worthwhile to concretely examine the options.

Not out of fear of missing out.

But because, for many people, home ownership remains a long-term part of their life planning.