Ahead of the planned “housing construction summit” this Monday in the Chancellery, the mood in the housing and real estate industry is extremely bad. Industry associations attribute the fact that hardly any new and affordable living space is currently being built to federal policy, which puts an undue burden on project developers and owners.
They feel that their concerns and demands are not being taken seriously by the federal government. The Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) and the House Owners Association
“At the moment the situation is fatal for the portfolio holders,” said GdW President Axel Gedaschko. “But we see that this mixed situation is simply not recognized in the government.” The GdW will therefore not take part in the meeting on Monday. The house owners’ association also agreed to the rejection
The Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV) also called for a “clear political commitment to more home ownership”. “This must be backed up with realistic funding programs as quickly as possible,” said association president Helmut Schleweis. “We’re running out of time here.”
ZIA real estate sentiment index
Funding programs that have been launched so far have failed to meet the needs of those responsible for construction. The KfW program for low-interest loans for building for families had only been applied for a little more than 200 times after three months, criticized the DSGV, the GdW and Haus
The alarmist mood is also reflected in the real estate sentiment index of the Central Real Estate Committee (ZIA) and the German Economic Institute (IW Cologne). “A slump in the business situation for project developers by 35 points to just -54.5 is a very serious warning sign,” said the ZIA based on the latest economic survey by IW Cologne. “The fact that the majority expect an even worse situation for the next twelve months signals a standstill in new construction.” The “housing summit” must now show whether politicians have understood the seriousness of the situation.
Warnecke and Gedaschko referred, among other things, to the recently passed heating law, which places an undue burden on landlords and makes affordable housing options impossible. “The mood of our companies is subterranean, and our companies no longer understand why Berlin politicians are not taking countermeasures,” said Gedaschko. It is also incomprehensible why the federal government continues to stick to its goal of around 40,000 newly built apartments this year.
FDP wants lower standards
In order to stimulate sluggish housing construction, the FDP wants to enable lower standards and avert new government requirements for very economical buildings. The Liberal construction experts, Carina Konrad and Daniel Föst, opposed the EH40 new building standard agreed in the Traffic Light Alliance’s coalition agreement for 2025. This reduces energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions, but increases construction costs.
“For a sustainable and affordable housing market, we don’t need more regulation, but more market economy,” said Konrad and Föst. They also took aim at plans to curb rising costs for renters. “Instead of politically tinkering with rental prices, we have to simplify construction. More supply through simplified construction leads to lower rental and purchase prices.” They expressly supported plans by Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) for easier and faster construction.
Sharp increases in financing and construction costs have significantly slowed down new construction in Germany. A few days ago, the real estate group Vonovia reported that tens of thousands of planned construction projects were currently on hold. According to an analysis by the financing broker Interhyp, citizens are currently burying their dream of owning their own house in droves.
