property
The federal government as a developer: only 68 apartments last year
The federal government has promised to build thousands of apartments. But the implementation is stalling. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
The federal government has promised to build thousands of new apartments as part of its new construction program. Only a double-digit number was completed in 2023. What are the reasons?
The federal government is planning to build thousands of new apartments, but implementation is stalling. Last year, the responsible Federal Agency for Real Estate (Bima) completed 68 new buildings. This comes from the Finance Ministry’s response to a request from Left-wing members of the Bundestag Caren Lay, which is available to the German Press Agency. Since 2020, Bima has started building 2,753 apartments as part of its new construction program – but only 200 have been completed.
This is about housing for federal employees, such as federal police officers. These apartments should also ensure that the general housing market is relieved. In 2018, the then federal government announced a housing construction offensive and announced the construction of 6,000 to 8,000 new apartments. Bima belongs to the federal government and is one of the largest property owners in Germany.
Lay criticized that the number of new buildings was ridiculously low in view of the worsening construction and housing crisis. “In view of the rapidly rising rents, the extreme housing shortage in many large cities and the skyrocketing construction costs, a significantly stronger commitment can be expected from the federal government,” she emphasized. In addition, Bima apartments would continue to be sold to private investors. “The sell-off must end once and for all,” demanded Lay.
According to the Council of Real Estate Experts, there is a shortage of 600,000 apartments in Germany this year. The federal government’s goal of building 400,000 apartments per year is becoming more distant: According to the Ifo Institute, the number of new apartments built annually could decline by 35 percent by 2026 compared to last year. One reason for the slowdown in construction is the sharp increase in construction and financing costs.
Bima on the housing offensive