Against Price Trend: Renovated Apartments Significantly More Expensive - Saxony’s housing market rebounds as renovated apartments surge in price
Saxony’s property market has bounced back in 2024 after a slowdown in previous years. Sales rose sharply in Dresden and Leipzig, with more apartments changing hands than at any point since 2022. Despite a general drop in residential prices, renovated apartments in the region’s major cities have grown significantly more expensive.
Across Saxony, around 38,000 purchase contracts were signed in 2024—an 8% increase over the previous year. The recovery was most noticeable in Dresden and Leipzig, where demand surged.
In Dresden, roughly 4,700 properties were sold, nearly 50% more than in 2023. Of these, about 3,300 were apartments. Leipzig saw even stronger activity, with around 5,100 properties changing hands—a third more than the year before. Nearly 3,800 of those were flats.
While average property prices in Saxony’s urban areas fell by about €100 per square metre, renovated apartments bucked the trend. In Dresden, buyers paid an average of €6,391 per square metre for modernised apartments, €731 more than in 2023. Leipzig followed a similar pattern, with renovated apartments costing €6,315 per square metre—a €330 rise. These prices now exceed those of new builds, which averaged €5,550 per square metre in Dresden and €6,000 in Leipzig.
Land prices for single-family homes remained steady. In Dresden and Leipzig, plots held at €300 per square metre, while in Chemnitz and its surrounding districts, the rate stayed at €100 per square metre.
The 2024 figures mark the first positive shift in Saxony’s real estate market since 2022. More transactions took place, particularly in Leipzig and Dresden, though the gap between renovated and new-build prices has widened. Land values, however, have shown little movement in the region’s key cities.
