According to a study by the Pestel Institute, there is already a shortage of 2.2 million senior-friendly homes in Germany. With the entry of the baby boomer generation of “baby boomers” into retirement, the gap will increase enormously in the next few years, said institute director Matthias Günther at the construction trade fair in Munich.
At the same time, many pensioners will hardly be able to pay the rising rents and housing costs in the future. Germany is well on the way to the “gray housing shortage”.
The housing market is not prepared for the coming generation of pensioners. Today, only around 600,000 pensioner households live in barrier-free apartments that are suitable for walkers and wheelchairs, without stairs and with step-free access to the shower. In 2040, however, 3.3 million such apartments would be needed so that old people can stay at home for as long as possible. Nevertheless, the federal government is even slowing down the age-appropriate conversion of apartments, said the head of the institute. The state-owned KfW bank no longer offers any grants for this. A subsidy program for age-appropriate new buildings and conversions of at least half a billion euros per year would be necessary.
