Home ownership in danger: Experts warn of a long housing shortage!

Home ownership in danger: Experts warn of a long housing shortage!

The real estate industry is facing a crucial turning point: the KIM regulation expires in June 2025, and the reactions from business are consistently positive. As the Financial Market Stability Board (FMSG) announced, it was decided not to extend the existing regulations. This is seen by many industry representatives, including Karlheinz Kopf, Secretary General of the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ), as an “extremely positive sign for the economy”. Kopf emphasizes that the KIM regulation has made the purchase of home ownership significantly more difficult in recent years, which has led to a stagnation in new housing construction. In his opinion, the expiry of the regulation next year will mean an important turning point for the real estate industry and thus also for the economy as a whole.

Parallel to this development, a current survey by... expertsurvey.com that 67.78% of the 500 experts surveyed expect a slow but steady recovery in condominium construction after the abolition of the KIM regulation. However, 51.3% of experts believe that the regulation has caused more harm than good, particularly through rising rents as a result of the decline in housing construction. In addition, 51.17% of those surveyed fear that the housing shortage will continue for at least three to five years, which underlines the urgency of structural measures to stabilize the market.

Voices from the industry

Josef Muchitsch, federal chairman of the Construction Wood Trade Union (GBH), sees the end of the KIM regulation as overdue and sees it as an opportunity to provide urgently needed impetus for the industry. He emphasizes that the KIM regulation has made access to home ownership more difficult and has affected orders for the construction industry. Gerald Gollenz, chairman of the professional association of real estate and asset trustees in the WKÖ, agrees and emphasizes that the expiry of the regulation removes a major hurdle for the creation of property. Andreas Köttl, President of the Association of Austrian Project Developers (VÖPE), also expresses his relief and calls for housing to be kept sustainably affordable.

With the impending expiry of the KIM regulation, a new era of housing construction could begin in 2025, which will benefit both the construction industry and potential property buyers. However, the pressure on the industry remains high as the housing market challenges cannot be solved overnight and further measures are required to stabilize and revive it.