Something is going on in the construction industry - but not enough. In the first three quarters of this year, 262,800 permits were issued - an increase of 6,000 building permits or 2.3 percent compared to the same period last year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. In 2017, commitments plunged more than seven percent after continuously growing from 2008 to 2016.
The increase for 2018 is solely attributable to multi-family homes (plus 8.3 percent). By contrast, the number of building permits for one- and two-family houses fell by 0.9% and 4.4%, respectively. Residences had 19.3 percent fewer permits than a year earlier. According to the statisticians, this is mainly due to the decreasing demand for refugee accommodation.
Notwithstanding increasing building permits, the economy does not anticipate an end to the problems on the housing market in Germany. "Despite rising numbers of building permits, an end to the housing shortage is not foreseeable," said the President of the Federal Association of independent real estate and housing companies, Andreas Ibel. "Several indicators also suggest that the increase could be short-lived." 97 percent of the member companies complained about the lack of availability of building plots. Around three quarters reported difficulties in finding companies or professionals to carry out construction contracts.
CDU / CSU and SPD have stipulated in the coalition agreement to build around 1.5 million apartments by 2021 - that would be 375,000 per year. However, the main association of the German construction industry (HDB) expects only about 300,000 new apartments in the end of the year. "Despite residential summit and building land commission, we seem to be one step further in the causes of the slow increase, such as lack of building land, land speculation and different state building regulations," said HDB CEO Dieter Babiel.