High construction prices and increased interest rates continue to ensure that too few new apartments are being built in Germany. This means that one of the federal government’s goals is likely to be in jeopardy.
The trend in building permits for apartments in Germany continues to point downwards. After a slump of around a quarter in the first half of the year, the number in July 2023 was also significantly below the previous year’s value at minus 31.5, as the Federal Statistical Office announced. The construction or conversion of 21,000 apartments in this country was approved in July, 9,600 fewer than a year ago.
High construction prices and increased interest rates have been slowing things down for months. From January to July 2023, the number of building permits for apartments in Germany fell by 27.8 percent to 156,200 apartments, according to the Wiesbaden authority, compared to the same period last year. Real estate and construction associations assume that the federal government’s target of 400,000 new apartments annually will clearly be missed this year.
According to the Federal Office, 128,300 apartments were approved in newly constructed residential buildings from January to July. That was 31.6 percent less than in the same period last year. The number of building permits for single-family homes fell by a good third (minus 36.5 percent) to 30,800. In the case of two-family houses, the number of approved apartments fell by more than half (minus 53.2 percent) to 8,900. The number of approved apartments also fell significantly in multi-family houses: by more than a quarter (minus 27.5 percent) to 83,600.
Source: Stern
