The lull in construction will continue into the new year: In the first quarter, the number of permits for new houses and apartments fell by almost a quarter compared to the previous year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced. From January to March, the authorities gave the green light to build just 53,500 apartments – 15,200 fewer than at the beginning of 2023. Expensive materials and higher interest rates on financing in particular deter many potential builders and investors. The industry has therefore long been calling for more government aid and easing of more expensive building standards, for example in terms of energy efficiency.
Last year, the number of building permits fell to around 260,000, its lowest level since 2012. In a reaction, the Federal Ministry of Construction spoke of “consistently not very encouraging” figures. A spokeswoman also referred to the many funding programs that the government has launched to stabilize the construction industry. However, there is currently a backlog of almost 900,000 apartments that have already been approved but have not yet been built.
The traffic light coalition had set the goal of building 400,000 new apartments every year. But in 2022 there were only around 295,000 and last year there were about as many as the news agency Reuters citing Insider reported. The statisticians will publish the number next week.