Building permits
More new apartments – upward trend stops
Affordable living space is scarce. The latest numbers give hope. And the federal government wants to provide even more upswing on the construction with a new law.
The upward trend in the long -troubled housing construction continues: In April, the authorities in Germany approved the new construction and renovation of a total of 18,500 apartments. According to calculations by the Federal Statistical Office, these were 4.9 percent more than a year earlier. 15,000 of these apartments are to be built in new buildings – an increase of 5.1 percent in April 2024, as the Wiesbaden statisticians announced.
The previous annual balance sheet is also positive: from January to April 2025, the number of building permits in housing added up to 73,900. According to the calculations, these were 3.7 percent more than in the previous year. However, the statisticians have a stagnation for apartment buildings, while more single -family houses are built.
“Bau-Turbo” should accelerate housing construction
Affordable living space is particularly scarce in metropolitan areas. More new apartments are the declared goal of the new federal government. The SPD-led predecessor government had promised 400,000 new apartments in Germany each year, but never achieved the goal.
Last year, the number of permits by almost 17 percent had dropped to the lowest level since 2010. The authorities had just approved 215,900 new units.
In order to accelerate housing construction, the Federal Cabinet wants to get a law on the way this Wednesday: With the so-called construction turbo, municipalities should be given the opportunity to tighten approval procedures by deviating from development plans.
Housing in Germany is, among other things, due to high construction costs in the crisis. At the same time, specialists in the construction industry are missing.
dpa
Source: Stern
