Despite a huge increase in demand making it much more difficult to get an apartment in a desirable area, the rent increases on them have only been a few percent

Despite a huge increase in demand making it much more difficult to get an apartment in a desirable area, the rent increases on them have only been a few percent per year. And dealing with property management companies is usually a huge pain, but that's nothing new. It's still pretty easy to find a 50qm in Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, or Neukölln (within the Ringbahn) for under €500-600 warm. If you want or need a larger, fancier flat, or if you want to live in Prenzlberg or Charlottenburg, obviously you can choose to pay more.