GEWOS

What GEWOS does

GEWOS Institut für Stadt-, Regional- und Wohnforschung GmbH is an independent consulting and research institute headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, with a second office in Berlin. Founded in 1972 (with select sources citing 1969) and operating for over 50 years, GEWOS specializes in the German housing, real estate, demographic, and urban development research market. Its core proprietary product is the IMA® (Immobilienmarktanalyse), a nationwide real estate transaction database that has tracked actual sales and purchase prices across Germany for nearly 40 years and underpins the regularly published DEIX real estate index. Supporting this is the GEWOS Prognosemodell and Demografie-Toolbox, proprietary forecasting models for population, household, daycare, school, and care-facility needs used in infrastructure planning.

The company delivers a portfolio of services across five areas: Wohnungsmarkt (housing market analyses, forecasts, monitoring, target group and land-potential analyses, mystery shopping), Immobilienmarktanalysen (IMA® and DEIX), Demografie und Daseinsvorsorge (demographic and public services needs forecasting, location/market expert opinions, neighborhood development concepts), Beratung und Forschung (strategy process moderation, advisory for establishing municipal housing companies), and Innenstadtentwicklung (integrated urban center concepts, vacancy management, urban planning consulting, funding advisory). It does not sell a unified software product; offerings are bespoke consulting engagements, data reports, and proprietary analyses.

GEWOS operates a B2B project-based professional services model, earning revenue through individual consulting contracts with German municipalities, counties, federal states (Länder), federal institutions, housing companies, developers, social organizations, and private clients. Since November 2016 it has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of BIG-BAU Projekt- und Stadtentwicklung, part of the DSK | BIG Gruppe, one of Germany's largest urban, project, and land development companies with 250+ employees across 10 locations. GEWOS itself maintains a lean team of 1-10 employees, with credentials spanning urban planning, geography, and economics, and serves clients across all of Germany from its Hamburg and Berlin offices.

Name

GEWOS

Legal name

GEWOS Institut für Stadt-, Regional- und Wohnforschung GmbH

Website

https://gewos.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GEWOS is an independent German consulting and research institute, founded 1972 and based in Hamburg with a Berlin office, that delivers housing market analyses, demographic forecasting, and urban development consulting to municipalities, federal states, housing companies, and developers across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Housing Market Research and Consulting

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Development & Feasibility Advisory (Highest-and-Best-Use, Entitlements Support) (BPAJANAC)

Keywords

• Housing market research
• Real estate market analysis
• Urban development consulting
• Demographic forecasting
• Municipal advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Research and Consulting Services: GEWOS generates revenue through project-based consulting and research engagements for public and private sector clients. Services include housing market analyses, demographic studies, urban development concepts, and real estate market research. Revenue is derived from individual project contracts with government entities, housing companies, and developers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

GEWOS is an independent consulting and research institute operating for over 50 years in the German housing and real estate market. The company delivers housing market analyses, demographic forecasting, urban development concepts, and proprietary real estate transaction data (IMA® and DEIX index) to public sector clients (municipalities, counties, federal states, federal institutions) and private sector clients (housing companies, developers, and social organizations). Its core deliverables combine long-running transaction data sets, demographic modeling, and integrated urban planning concepts to support evidence-based housing and city development decisions.

Product overview

GEWOS is an independent consulting and research institute operating in the German housing and real estate market for over 50 years. It does not offer a unified software platform but rather a portfolio of specialized consulting services and proprietary research products. The core research product is the Immobilienmarktanalyse IMA® (nearly 40 years of operation), which is a nationwide real estate transaction database underlying the Immobilien-Index DEIX. The service portfolio spans five main areas: Wohnungsmarkt (housing market analyses, forecasts, and monitoring), Immobilienmarktanalysen (IMA® and related indices), Demografie und Daseinsvorsorge (demographic analyses and infrastructure needs forecasting), Beratung und Forschung (strategy consulting and municipal housing company advisory), and Innenstadtentwicklung (urban center development consulting). These are delivered as consulting engagements, data reports, and proprietary analyses — not as a software-as-a-service platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IMA® (Immobilienmarktanalyse): GEWOS's proprietary real estate market analysis product that has been determining actual real estate transactions and purchase prices throughout Germany for nearly 40 years.
• DEIX (Immobilien-Index)

Products and services

• Immobilienmarktanalyse IMA® (Real Estate Market Analysis) Proprietary real estate market analysis system containing nearly 40 years of actual real estate transaction data across more than 60 cities; supports market participants in assessing supply, demand, and pricing trends in the German residential real estate market.
• Immobilien-Index DEIX (Real Estate Index) Proprietary real estate index derived from IMA® transaction data, providing price trend measurement and benchmarking for the German residential property market.
• Housing Market Analyses, Forecasts and Concepts (Wohnungsmarktanalysen, -prognosen und -konzepte) Studies analyzing current housing market conditions and forecasting future supply and demand for municipalities, housing companies, and federal states.
• Housing Market Monitoring (Wohnungsmarktmonitoring) Recurring monitoring of housing market developments with indicator systems used to track rental and owner-occupied housing segments over time.
• Target Group Analyses (Zielgruppenanalysen) Analyses identifying and characterizing target groups for residential property marketing and product design, including demand-side segmentation studies.
• Land Potential Analyses and Evaluations (Flächenpotenzialanalysen & -bewertungen) Evaluation of undeveloped and development land areas to assess housing and mixed-use potential for municipal and developer clients.
• Mystery Shopping for Quality Improvement (Mystery-Shopping) Test-customer and field studies used to evaluate and improve service quality of housing companies and brokers in the rental and owner-occupied segments.
• Demographic Analyses (Demografieanalysen) Population and household projections using GEWOS demographic models to support planning across housing, infrastructure, and social service domains.
• Public Service Demand Forecasts (Bedarfsprognosen Daseinsvorsorge) Forecasts of demand for public services including schools, daycare, and care facilities, including needs assessment studies for municipalities and social organizations.
• Village Center and Neighborhood Concepts (Ortskernentwicklungs- & Quartierskonzepte) Integrated development concepts for village centers and residential neighborhoods combining demographic, housing, and infrastructure analyses.
• Location and Market Expert Opinions (Standort- und Marktgutachten) Formal expert opinions on locations and markets, often used as supporting evidence for project development and investment decisions.
• Inner City Concepts (Innenstadtkonzepte) Strategic concepts for the development of inner city and town center locations, including retail, residential, and mixed-use use analyses.
• Urban Planning Analyses (Städtebauliche Analysen) Analytical studies of urban planning structures and built environments for municipalities and developers.
• Dialogue and Participation Services (Dialog und Beteiligung) Stakeholder dialogue, citizen participation, and workshop moderation services supporting municipal and neighborhood planning processes.
• City and Center Management (City- und Zentrenmanagement) Operational and strategic management services for city centers and commercial locations, including center management mandates.
• Vacancy and Land Management (Leerstands- und Flächenmanagement) Programs to identify and activate vacant buildings and underused land for housing and commercial redevelopment.
• Use Concepts (Nutzungskonzepte) Conceptual reuse and utilization studies for properties, neighborhoods, and public spaces.
• Urban Planning Consulting (Städtebauliche Beratung) Advisory services on urban planning questions for municipalities, developers, and project sponsors.
• Funding Advice (Fördermittelberatung) Advisory on public funding programs, subsidies, and grants available for housing, urban, and infrastructure projects.
• Strategy Process Moderation and Support (Moderation und Begleitung von Strategieprozessen) Moderation, facilitation, and ongoing support of strategic development processes for housing companies and public sector organizations.
• Advisory for Establishing Municipal Housing Companies (Beratung zur Gründung kommunaler Wohnungsunternehmen) Consulting services supporting the formation, restructuring, and strategic positioning of municipal and public housing companies.

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BIG-BAU Projekt- und StadtentwicklungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGEWOS is part of the BIG-BAU group (formerly DSK | BIG Gruppe), one of Germany's largest urban, project, and land development companies with over 70 years of history and 250+ employees across 10 locations. This affiliation provides GEWOS access to extensive resources and enables integrated service offerings combining research with project implementation capabilities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Fraunhofer IAO: Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer Institute conducting research on urban development, mobility, and demographic transformation. Adjacent peer in demographic forecasting and urban systems research rather than housing-specific work.
• Albert Speer & Partner: Frankfurt-based architecture and urban planning consultancy working on city development, post-industrial site revitalisation, and master planning. Comparable client base of municipalities and developers for Innenstadtentwicklung-type engagements.
• Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik (Difu): Berlin-based research and consulting institute for municipalities, focused on urban planning, municipal finance, and infrastructure. GMBH structure and client base are highly comparable to GEWOS, though as a non-profit research institute rather than a commercial firm.
• Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR): Federal government research institute within the German Ministry of Construction that publishes housing market data, urban research, and regional planning studies. Not a commercial competitor but a thematic peer setting data standards GEWOS must align with.

Broad incumbents

• CBRE Germany: Global real estate advisory firm with deep German research capabilities and consulting for investors, developers, and public sector clients. Overlaps with GEWOS on investment advisory and market analysis mandates.
• JLL Germany (Jones Lang LaSalle): Global commercial real estate services firm with substantial German research and capital markets advisory practice. Competes with GEWOS at the upper end of the market for large portfolio and investment advisory mandates.

Direct peers

• BulwienGesa AG: Leading German real estate market research firm publishing widely cited indices, residential and commercial market reports, and city rankings. Directly competes with GEWOS's IMA®/DEIX data franchise and Wohnungsmarktanalysen.
• Pestel Institut: Hannover-based research institute specializing in housing market analyses, demographic change, and regional economic consulting. Strong overlap with GEWOS's demographic and Daseinsvorsorge service lines.
• empirica ag: Bonn-based independent research and consulting firm focused on housing market analyses, demographic projections, and residential real estate market research in Germany. Closest direct competitor to GEWOS in the German housing research niche.

Regional players

• StadtForschung (BfSS): Ehrenkirchen-based research and planning office focused on housing market analysis, urban development, and demographic consulting for German municipalities and private clients. Direct overlap with GEWOS's Wohnungsmarkt and Demografie service lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@gewos
• Facebookfacebook.com/GEWOS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gewos-institut-fuer-stadt-regional-und-wohnforschung-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/gewos_institut
• Xx.com/gewos_Institut

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GEWOS