Traffic light misses residential building target
The number of building permits falls drastically
01/18/2023 1:14 p.m
In view of rising interest and material costs, the number of building permits continues to decrease. Around 16 percent fewer apartments were approved in November than in the same month last year. The SPD concedes that the target of 400,000 new apartments per year will probably be missed.
The decline in building permits for apartments in Germany has continued rapidly. In November last year, the construction of 24,304 apartments was approved, a good 16 percent less than in the same period last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. From January to November, 321,757 apartments were approved. This was 5.7 percent or 19,280 fewer than in the same period of the previous year. The decline in building permits for single-family homes was particularly strong (minus 15.9 percent).
The number of building permits is an important indicator in view of the housing shortage in many cities. However, approved apartments are often not built at first because craftsmen and construction companies do not have the capacity. The sharply increased prices for building materials and building land are also slowing down. The prices for the new construction of conventionally manufactured residential buildings in November increased by almost 17 percent compared to the same month last year.
Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz recently admitted that the traffic light coalition was a long way from building 400,000 new apartments a year. In fact, you have little influence on many things, said the SPD politician, referring to inflation and the shortage of skilled workers in construction. Because of higher interest rates on loans and high construction costs, many builders are holding back on projects or canceling them.
The Central Association of the German Construction Industry expects around 245,000 apartments to be completed in 2023. An alliance of tenants’ association, building union and social and industry associations recently called for a special fund of 50 billion euros for social housing. Around 700,000 apartments were missing in Germany, it said.