Demographic Outlook and the Implications for Real Estate Markets

Abstract

The fertility rate in Germany has been very low for 40 years at more or less 1.4 children per woman. In the past the resulting deficit of births could be offset with immigration, but this will become increasingly difficult in future on account of the natural population change continuing to decline. The population in Germany has already been shrinking since 2003 by roughly 700,000 people and demographers expect that the coming decades will bring more contractions and a marked ageing of society. This chapter will outline the most important demographic trends for Germany as well as the regional differences in order to discern the most important implications for real estate markets.