Residential city monitoring

Jena's housing market is under pressure due to the positive population development in recent years and the high demand for housing. In order to better assess the actual developments on the housing market and to develop a strategic basis for long-term planning, the city of Jena has been monitoring the housing market on an ongoing basis since 2002. This monitoring - supported by the AG Wohnungswirtschaft - incorporates data from 24,667 apartments (as of 12/2025) in the housing companies' portfolios.

In addition to providing sufficient living space, the city has set itself the task of further developing the quality of housing on offer in Jena in line with the changing demand for sought-after residential locations, apartment sizes and furnishing standards as well as rental prices.

Regular monitoring & establishment of the housing industry working group

Against the backdrop of a housing vacancy rate of over 10 % at the time, the city administration has been working intensively on the topic of housing since 2001. Coordinated action was necessary and for this reason the housing industry working group was founded. In 2013, the housing industry working group celebrated its 10th anniversary. This was honored with a public event. The speakers' presentations are available for download.

The current common goal is to strengthen the quality and quantity of existing and new housing construction and to respond to the various needs and special requirements of the different target groups.

Statements on the development of housing demand and supply are made for the city as a whole and for the planning area, forecasts on future market development are drawn up and recommendations for action are derived. These results are continuously evaluated and reviewed in an annual monitoring process and documented in the "Wohnstadt Jena" concept (-> Downloads). The current monitoring for 2025 was published in December 2025.