North Rhine-Westphalia is a federated state of Germany, situated in the western part of the country. It shares international borders with the Walloon Region, Liege, Limburg, Gelderland, and Overijssel, alongside domestic borders with Lower Saxony, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatinate. The terrain rises from its low-lying areas to its highest point at Langenberg. The region is home to several major higher education institutions, including the University of Cologne, the University of Bonn, and RWTH Aachen University.
Property in North Rhine-Westphalia is generally cheap compared to the German average, though prices vary significantly between its major cities. Cologne holds the largest share of the housing stock, followed by Duisburg and Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf is the most expensive city in the region, with Cologne and Münster also commanding prices well above the regional average. In contrast, Duisburg is by far the cheapest of the main urban centres, with housing costing a fraction of what it does in the dearer cities, while Essen and Bielefeld sit just below the regional average.
