Germany’s construction industry is in crisis. The minister responsible is nevertheless hopeful. What is her plan?
Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) has expressed optimism that more new housing will be built in Germany. In terms of building completions, the industry has come through the crisis with stability, said Geywitz in Berlin, referring to the approximately 295,000 new apartments built in Germany last year.
She is optimistic about the future. However, given the sluggish economy, it will be a difficult year, said Geywitz at the Real Estate Industry Day. The number of building applications has fallen.
Manual or serial?
If we want to go from around 300,000 to 400,000 new apartments per year, significant increases in productivity are necessary, said Geywitz. The traffic light coalition had announced 400,000 new apartments per year. Geywitz once again advocated serial construction, i.e. building in series – without, however, the new buildings looking the same everywhere, as was often the case in previous decades.
“They can build pretty or ugly manually or in series,” said Geywitz. If you have high demands in terms of energy, aesthetics and other aspects, housing becomes expensive. Only a few can afford it. “That’s not my model,” said Geywitz.
Geywitz wants fewer building regulations
The minister announced numerous new regulations that are intended to make building easier and cheaper and thus speed it up. In the future, the so-called building type e should be able to be built. This simpler construction method should ensure lower standards and cheaper construction. “There are an infinite number of rules that we have to make.” This also applies to noise and air. Certain requirements for car parking spaces should be eliminated. In addition, there will be further tax incentives and interest rate reductions, as well as specific subsidies for the conversion of existing properties and the conversion of empty commercial properties into living space.
Source: Stern
