Every year, it's the same story: the winter semester is about to begin at universities. And that means even more people than in other months are desperately searching for affordable housing. Few have wealthy parents who can simply pull an apartment out of thin air in a prime location in downtown Frankfurt or at least close to the university.
The financial metropolis of Frankfurt am Main is one of the most expensive cities in Germany. Since 2010, rents have risen by over 60 percent, while at the same time extreme demand from newcomers and international companies shows no sign of abating. Let's take a look at how new technologies could help in the search for housing. Artificial intelligence may offer a more sensible approach to searching for, evaluating, and managing apartments than traditional methods.
The Frankfurt housing market
The data and figures available on the internet speak for themselves. With a price per square meter of €11.50 for new buildings and standard land values of three to five thousand square meters in the city center, the city in the Rhine-Main area is one of the most expensive places to live. In addition, the vacancy rate in popular neighborhoods such as Sachsenhausen or Nordend is very low, which makes finding an apartment even more difficult. Rents for a centrally located 60-square-meter apartment are now in the range of €1,200 to €1,500 – and rising. There is currently no sign of relief, as thousands of people continue to flock to Frankfurt every year.
Transparency through data
Anyone looking for an apartment tries to tap into as many sources of information as possible. Traditional methods such as personal contacts, word of mouth, classified ads, and notices, as well as new methods such as social media, internet forums, and online service providers, are all intended to ensure success. From the outside, one might think that searching for a needle in a proverbial haystack would have better odds. How can you keep track of everything in this jumble of contacts and bits of information?
At this point, at the latest, artificial intelligence could come into play. AI systems are already analyzing a variety of data sources to make rental prices fairer and more transparent. Public statistics such as the rent index for the city of Frankfurt, standard land values, and vacancy rates form the basis for data-based assessments. Real-time market data from commercial platforms reveal current trends – for example, the 8 percent increase in rents in the Nordend district last year. Infrastructure data on public transport connections, schools, the surrounding area, and noise pollution complete the picture.
Some platforms are already using AI to provide clarity in the Frankfurt housing market. In addition to Immoscout24, which analyzes rent trends in different neighborhoods, these include Housery, which refines AI-supported apartment searches with various filters, Mispiegel-Check, which compares the asking rent with the official Frankfurt rent index, and the Frankfurt Geoportal with interactive maps on noise, green spaces, and social structure.
Success story from real life
28-year-old Anna is a good example of how AI can help tenants. When she rented a two-room apartment in Sachsenhausen for €1,300 in 2023, she became suspicious: the rent seemed too high to her. The AI-supported rent index check by the tenants' association confirmed her suspicion: the rent was 20 percent above the permissible value. With the data-based evidence, Anna convinced her landlord and achieved a reduction in rent to €1,100. Ultimately, Anna saved a whopping €2,400 in one year.
Cooperatives are also going digital
While the free housing market is characterized by speculation, cooperatives offer a stable and social alternative. Over 30,000 Frankfurt residents already live in cooperative apartments, and the waiting lists are long.
The advantages are obvious: rents rise only moderately (one to two percent per year), members have co-determination rights, and there is no speculation because apartments are not sold. The difference to rents in the private market is clear: while tenants there now have to pay a good 12 to 18 euros per square meter, cooperative members pay an average of 8 to 10 euros per square meter.
AI-driven tools are helping cooperatives become even more efficient. In waiting list management, artificial intelligence can prioritize applicants according to social criteria such as income and family size. For better energy efficiency, sensors with AI analyze consumption and save costs. Predictive maintenance identifies repair needs at an early stage so that the necessary repair work can be carried out promptly. Another area of application for AI is simulating the demand for different apartment sizes for needs-based planning. One of the largest cooperatives in the city of Frankfurt, ABG Frankfurt Holding, has been using AI-supported tools since 2023 and has been able to reduce its administrative costs by 30 percent as a result.
Voice from the field
Michael Weber, CEO of Bauverein AG Frankfurt, sums it up: “People are our focus, but data is our tool for making that possible. We have been using AI since 2022 to make waiting lists fairer. This enabled us to allocate apartments to over 200 families with children more quickly in 2023.”
Predictive maintenance saves the cooperative up to €100,000 in maintenance costs annually. That's a lot of money that is now being invested in new construction and renovations.
Frankfurt as a pioneer
The city of Frankfurt is planning to launch an urban “housing market dashboard” by 2025 with real-time data on rents, vacancies, and new construction projects. By 2030, 20 percent of new housing is to be promoted through cooperatives, with AI as the key technology.
AI in the housing market will thus establish itself as a tool for greater fairness and transparency. For tenants, this means better bargaining positions and protection against overpriced rents. But landlords also benefit, among other things, from legally compliant assessments and long-term planning security. And for the city, AI assistance is proving to be a tool for identifying social tensions.
The combination of innovative technology and proven cooperative principles shows that, with good will, affordable housing is also possible in Frankfurt—when data and community spirit go hand in hand and are used for the benefit of as many people as possible.
