Construction crisis escalated: housing destination moves in unreachable distance!

Construction crisis escalated: housing destination moves in unreachable distance!

In the middle of a continuing housing shortage in Germany, the construction industry is struggling with serious challenges. There are opposing developments in line with each other: On the one hand, there is an immense demand for new apartments, especially in large cities, due to a migration -driven population growth. On the other hand, the construction industry lacks orders, which appears surprising at first glance. In fact, permits, rising costs and complex bureaucratic hurdles let the housing to be stalled.

The German government's ambitions to build 400,000 new apartments annually are under pressure. In the first half of 2024, only building permits for 106,700 residential units were granted, a decline of over 21 percent compared to the previous year. The goal of relieving the shortage of housing is thus far away. According to a report by www.focus.de the second half of the year could look even darker.

exploding costs in the construction industry

between 2020 and 2024, the construction costs rose by an impressive 47 percent, which led to stress, especially in single -family houses. Energy -intensive production processes, such as the production of cement, are also affected by current energy policy. Higher prices for this stroke in the construction industry and continue to drive the costs up. Another stumbling block is the bureaucracy: building owners report waiting times of up to three years on building permits, while Klara Geywitz, German Minister of Building, prospects solutions in the form of a “construction turbos”.

bankruptcies threaten jobs, hope wanks

Insolvency in the construction industry increases, which leads to a worrying loss of jobs. One example is the bankruptcy of Gussek Haus GmbH from Lower Saxony, which questions 400 jobs. Statistics show that the bankruptcies in Lower Saxony rose by over 57 percent in the first half of 2024. Similar tendencies are emerging in Baden-Württemberg. The construction and housing industry suffers from a "toxic mix" from increased energy prices, unaffordable consumer prices and excessive bureaucracy, said Jürgen Matthes from the Institute of German Economy.

A ray of hope on the horizon could be a reduction in key interest rates by the European Central Bank, which takes time until it can be felt in the form of cheaper real estate loans. But even passionate observers question whether the hoped -for relief will take place in time to ensure the survival of many companies. More details on these developments can be found at www.focus.de .