The construction of 18,200 apartments was approved across Germany in February 2024, which is around 18 percent less than in the same month last year. Compared to 2021, building permits even fell by over 40 percent.
Rising interest rates, high construction costs, a shortage of materials, and a lack of skilled and skilled workers have put the industry in distress, especially since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. In view of skyrocketing rents and a widespread lack of apartments, the Main Association of the German Construction Industry (HDB) rates the situation as "dramatic." "The dream of living in one's own four walls is becoming unfulfillable for an increasing number of private households," said HDB Managing Director Tim-Oliver Müller about the new figures.