I had a look at the 4 most popular places to live in Frankfurt a while ago in a previous blog post and recently came across some information to make our lives easier. ImmobilienScout24.de published a handy map of Frankfurt to guide you around the average prices for a 2 bed, 70sqm appartment according to their location on the public transport lines:

The map has a double advantage of not just giving you average prices but also provides newly arrived foreigners with a handy guide to the names of different districts in Frankfurt according to location.

To support this price map there is also a detailed page of advice (of course only in German) on the current situation in Frankfurt. Here is what you need to know at the moment:

At the time writing, there are around 1200 properties available for rent at an average €11/sqm and prices growing at 2% per year. Prices are growing very unevenly around Frankfurt though, for example in Ostend thanks to the new ECB tower and in Eschborn thanks to the imminent arrival of a large Chinese tech company. These new developments are not isolated and the trend for international companies to set up in and around Frankfurt is growing. The city are trying to counter the effects of this by building more accommodation such as the development in the west of the city by the train station, and up in satelite districts like Riedberg, but the pressure is still there and is felt particularly keenly in the education system as a significant proportion of the influx is from students, young working couples and young families. Projections are that the current population boom will continue until at least 2020, along with the associated building boom and price growth.

The city is working on numerous large developments and have designated several areas according to the suitability for certain types of residents:

Westend/Gallus – singles (diverse cultural and leisure opportunities)
Griesheim – young couples (picturesque and close to river)
Frankfurter Berg – families (excellent schools, nurseries, infrastructure and recreation area)
Kalbach – students (low cost and near to university)
Sachsenhausen (Süd presumably) – old people (quiet, moderate prices, rural but with easy access)

Warning: These categories are defined by the city planning office, so let’s see if they manage to live up to the classifications!