No new homes can be built without a permit. But even with official permission, it can still be a long time before owners or tenants can move in.
Approvals alone are not enough: the authorities approved more new apartments last year than they have in more than 20 years.
However, according to the construction industry, an unclear funding structure, high prices and a backlog of materials prevent the projects from being implemented.
380,914 approved apartments in 2021 meant an increase of 3.3 percent compared to the previous year and the highest value since 1999, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office on Thursday. How many units were actually completed, however, the authority does not want to report until the summer.
According to experts, the so-called backlog of apartments that have been approved but have not been completed for various reasons is likely to have continued to grow. By the end of 2020, the traffic jam was around 780,000 units. Although almost 369,000 new apartments were approved that year, only a good 306,000 were completed. But that was the highest value since 2001.
According to the information, the increase in approvals in 2021 affected almost all types of new buildings. There was an increase of 0.9 percent in single-family houses, 25.1 percent more in two-family houses and 2.2 percent in apartment buildings. Only for dormitories were fewer permits issued than in the same period of the previous year (minus 26.6 percent).
The goal: 400,000 new apartments per year
The main association of the German construction industry assessed the development critically. Since the middle of the year, the number of permits has fallen and there is also a lack of multi-family houses in the metropolitan areas in order to quickly remedy the housing shortage. The reasons given by the association in Berlin were the elimination of child support and the increasing material shortages and the resulting price increases in construction. You need a clear funding structure and more serial and modular housing.
The traffic light coalition has set itself the goal of 400,000 new apartments per year. One in four of these must be social housing and a further 60,000 units must also be affordable from middle and lower incomes, according to the “Social Housing” alliance in January. It presented a study according to which annual funding of at least six billion euros was necessary.
The construction industry increased its sales only slightly by one percent last year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. The number of employees in the industry rose by 1.4 percent over the previous year. The German Construction Industry Association recently spoke of an increase of 19,000 to a good 911,000 employees. Thanks to the real estate boom and especially the strong demand for apartments, the construction industry has defied the Corona crisis.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
