Research Data & Academic Collaborations

WG-Gesucht.de supports universities, research institutions, students and other organisations conducting data-based research on shared housing and rental markets. Drawing on many years of platform data, we can provide individual, aggregated data analyses for academic research projects, Bachelor's and Master's theses.

Depending on the research question, analyses can cover topics such as rental price trends, supply and demand, shared housing and household structures, different types of rental and housing arrangements, and regional developments. Historical data can also provide insights into structural changes over longer periods of time.

Research topics and potential analyses

WG-Gesucht.de data provides insights particularly into the shared housing market, student housing and other segments of the rental market. Depending on the research question and data availability, potential analyses include:

• Rental price trends and housing costs: How have asking rents for rooms in shared apartments and other types of rental housing changed over time? What regional differences can be observed?
• Supply and demand: How are supply and demand for rooms in shared apartments changing? What seasonal and regional differences can be identified?
• Shared housing and household structures: How are the size of shared apartments, room sizes or different types of shared households changing? What additional insights can shared housing data provide for analysing household structures and housing needs?
• Rental and listing types: How are fixed-term and open-ended rental offers, or furnished and unfurnished listings, developing over time?
• Regional and long-term developments: What differences can be observed between cities, regions or individual urban areas, and what structural changes become visible over longer periods?

Data on the size and structure of shared households can, for example, provide an additional perspective on household-based analyses of housing needs: several people living together in a shared apartment form one household. Changes in shared housing structures can therefore be relevant when interpreting household numbers and housing demand.

Research projects using WG-Gesucht.de data

SHAREVIE: Shared housing and housing use in Vienna

The research project “Shared Housing for Affordable and Resilient Environments in Vienna (SHAREVIE)” examines shared housing as a form of living and its role in affordable and resilient housing.

WG-Gesucht.de supports the research project with aggregated platform data covering a five-year period. For Vienna, analyses include room sizes, asking rents, the size and types of shared households, the composition of existing shared apartments and different rental arrangements. Data at district level also enables a more detailed spatial analysis within Vienna. Additional analyses for other Austrian and German cities support comparative research.

HafenCity University Hamburg: Changes in housing types in Berlin

The research project “Inconspicuous Transformations: The Socio-Spatial Reconfiguration of ‘Formal’ Housing in Europe” at HafenCity University Hamburg examines changes within formal housing markets.

WG-Gesucht.de provides the research project with aggregated listing data for Berlin covering a ten-year period. The analyses distinguish between rooms in shared apartments, one-room apartments and apartments, and examine their development across Berlin neighbourhoods as defined on WG-Gesucht.de. The research looks at factors including average asking rents, the shares of fixed-term and open-ended listings, and changes in different listing categories.

Further academic research projects and theses

In addition to larger research collaborations, WG-Gesucht.de also supports university research projects and academic theses depending on the research question – for example through custom data analyses or by supporting the implementation of research studies.

Heidelberg University: Discrimination in the housing search

As part of a research seminar at Heidelberg University, WG-Gesucht.de supported a study examining potential discrimination in the housing search in connection with linguistic characteristics and perceived origin. WG-Gesucht.de supported the implementation of the study, including the creation of different search profiles and housing wanted ads for several German cities.

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: Subletting in Berlin's rental market

For a Master's thesis at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, WG-Gesucht.de provided anonymised data on rooms in shared apartments and apartments in Berlin covering a five-year period. The research focuses in particular on subletting as well as the development of fixed-term and open-ended listings. Historical comparison data and additional contextual information were also provided to support the analysis.

The research projects and theses presented here are a selection of previous academic collaborations and data analyses supported by WG-Gesucht.de.

Frequently asked questions about WG-Gesucht.de research data

Data for your research project

Would you like to use WG-Gesucht.de data for an academic research project or a Bachelor's or Master's thesis? Please send us a brief description of your research question or project, the variables you require, the period you would like to analyse and the geographic level you need.

We will then assess which aggregated analyses can be provided based on our data and which are appropriate for your specific research question. Contact us at pr@wg-gesucht.de.

Are you a journalist researching shared housing or rental markets? For an overview of our data, topics and resources for journalists, visit our Press & Newsroom.