New building in Vienna: until 2026 there is a risk of 40 percent

New building in Vienna: until 2026 there is a risk of 40 percent

The housing shortage in Vienna could tighten itself dramatically in the coming years. According to the “first Austrian new building report” of Exploreal GmbH, the new construction work will decrease considerably. The report forecast an increase in price adjustments and a significant reduction in construction activities by 2026. These problems are not only a Viennese phenomenon, but also affect the entire federal territory, where a decrease in new buildings is 10 percent.

In 2023, around 17,000 new apartments were still completed in Vienna, but a decline to around 15,300 units is already expected for this year. This means a decline of 10 percent, and the prospects for the coming years are even darker. By 2026, the number of new buildings could decrease by up to 40 percent, with a potential decline of up to 80 percent in the following years. Michael Pisecky, specialist group chairman of the real estate and wealth coilman in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, expressed concern about this development. "If the commercial residential construction continues to be blocked more than supported, the entire living space offer in Vienna and the renovation rate is massively at risk," he warned.

challenges for the construction industry

A central problem that contributes to this negative development are the increasing construction costs and the complex legal regulations that burden the real estate market. This includes, among other things, obligations for parking spaces for new buildings and strict requirements for the preservation of the cityscape. These factors could lead to a significant part of the necessary renovation and expansion measures in the city.

Pisecky therefore calls for politics to improve the framework conditions to enable a “renovation and construction turbo for the real estate industry”. In recent years, commercial developers have implemented more than 65 percent of the total new building in Vienna. The current environment is a major challenge for you in which there is no space for further blockages.

How developments will be over in the next few years remains to be seen. A detailed look at the situation offers The report of www.oe24.at .