Die Auftragskrise im deutschen WohnungsbauThe trend continues at the beginning of the second half of the year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the construction of 21,000 new homes was approved in July. This is 9,600 less than the same month last year, a decrease of 31.5 percent. The statisticians stated that this trend is likely to have been contributed to by increasing construction costs and worsening financing conditions.
In total, 156,200 apartments were approved in the first seven months of this year. This represents a decrease of 60,300 or 27.8 percent.
The German government has set a goal of constructing 400,000 new homes annually. This is intended to meet the increasing demand, particularly in major cities.
According to experts, it is expected that this will be significantly missed by 2023. While there has been housing support for climate-friendly new construction from the Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW) since March 2023, the Federal Office stated that „no clear effect of these measures on approval numbers is yet visible.“ The number of building permits has actually decreased more from March to July than from January to July overall.
Branche rechnet nach EZB-Zinsentscheid mit weiteren Problemen
According to the information provided, the number of approvals for single-family houses decreased by 36.5 percent to 30,800 in the first seven months of the year. For two-family houses, there was a decrease of 53.2 percent, with 8,900 fewer approvals granted. The number also significantly decreased for multi-family houses, which had the highest total number of apartments, with 83,600 approvals granted – a decrease of 27.5 percent. The only increase was seen in residential facilities.
The German construction and real estate industry is concerned that the crisis will worsen following the recent interest rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB) last week. „The increase in interest rates will further fuel the recession in construction, as financing costs rise and building becomes more expensive,“ said Tim-Oliver Müller, the CEO of the German Construction Industry Association, to Reuters news agency. The ECB has raised interest rates to the highest level since the start of the currency union in its fight against inflation. The benchmark interest rate increased from 4.25 to 4.50 percent.