As of: March 12, 2024, 11:56 a.m
By: Matthias Matz
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Housing construction in the Allgäu is currently practically idle.
The “Allgäu Building Summit” was now looking for ways out of the crisis.
© Bernd Feil/MiS
The mood in the local construction industry is bad.
Industry representatives made it clear how dramatic the situation is at the “Allgäu Building Summit”.
Kaufbeuren/Allgäu – After years of boom, housing construction in the region practically came to a standstill last year.
The number of building permits issued in Ostallgäu fell by 30 to 50 percent in 2023.
And there is no improvement in sight: the current business climate index from the Ifo Institute sees the construction industry continuing to decline rapidly.
A significant decline in construction investments is also forecast for this year.
The reasons for the crisis are diverse, as became clear at the “Allgäu Building Summit”, to which the Kaufbeuren member of the Bundestag, Stephan Stracke (CSU), invited.
In addition to the construction industry and politics, representatives from the banking sector and the Chamber of Crafts also took part in the meeting.
Everyone agreed that politicians must take countermeasures as quickly as possible.
And that a change of mentality is needed.
“We're hitting the wall,” said Peter Leo Dobler, head of the Kaufbeuren construction company of the same name, about the debates about four-day or even 20-hour weeks.
This is what the construction industry says:
Dobler and Thomas Scheibel from the Josef Scheibel company in Füssen complained about the many bureaucratic hurdles, including those related to monument and environmental protection, which have increased in recent years.
When submitting applications for a construction project, every detail must be clarified in advance.
This takes an enormous amount of time, especially since the authorities are lagging behind in digitalization, said Dobler, describing the situation.
In addition, no one in the offices wants to make decisions anymore.
If his employees in Munich have to dismantle a street lamp for a construction site, the process takes six months.
Disposal and recycling of demolition material is also becoming increasingly difficult.
“This makes conversion and renovation of existing buildings even more complicated every day.”
Dramatic situation
Scheibel explained that the industry feels left alone by politics.
Above all, there is a lack of reliable and sufficient funding from the state-owned KfW Bank.
“It’s not worth it anymore!” he emphasized.
In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to obtain the necessary resources.
Gravel mining in Forggensee is practically no longer possible.
He also reported on two older employees who would like to continue working.
However, both receive a widow's pension.
Because of the high deductions, working is no longer worthwhile for them.
“As an entrepreneur you no longer understand the world.”
The participants of the “Allgäu Building Summit” © Tobisch
Gerhard Layererle from Acredo Bau in Buchloe spoke of a dramatic situation.
He no longer believes in de-bureaucratization.
The situation is made more difficult by citizens' initiatives and complaining citizens who immediately take action against projects.
“Society is messed up!” There is also a pessimistic mood in the country that reminds him of the time before the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
After the tournament, the economy started to improve again.
“I expect our federal government to spread a good atmosphere!”
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This is what the trades say:
The Ostallgäu district master craftsman Robert Klauer pointed out that smaller craft businesses in particular, which often do not have the necessary specialists, suffer from the bureaucratic obstacles.
“Some of them are small things that could easily be changed – but there is not enough will or ability to do so,” says Klauer.
“We are blocking ourselves in Germany!”
This is what the banks say:
Manfred Hegedüs, CEO of Sparkasse Allgäu, confirmed that the construction of new apartments is currently practically not taking place due to a lack of financing.
“It's hair-tearing.” A decline in the order situation is also noticeable in the craft sector.
What still works is civil engineering through public sector contracts.
However, he saw the reasons for the ongoing misery less in the increased interest rates than in the high construction costs caused by an overheated market.
“Historically, we are at a reasonable level of interest rates,” he explained.
In the past, housing was created at much higher interest rates.
However, in view of declining demand, he expects construction prices to fall again.
The psychological component of the current situation should not be underestimated.
Many people who want to build are worried about their jobs and therefore remain cautious.
“There is depression among young families.” In order to get out of the crisis, politics is needed: “We need a government that invests!”
Toxic mixture
Thomas Munding from Sparkasse Schwaben-Bodensee also spoke out in favor of targeted funding.
Thanks to the years of low interest rates, even very young people could have afforded a house.
This led to huge demand and skyrocketing property prices.
“The average earner no longer has a chance of affording a property.”
This is what the building cooperatives say:
Markus Sonntag from the Memminger Siebendacher building cooperative spoke of a “toxic mixture”.
The building authorities hide behind reports instead of making decisions.
On the other hand, energy standards are being raised ever higher, making construction more expensive.
At his cooperative alone there are 1,000 people on the waiting list “who urgently need housing,” said Sonntag.
His colleague Claudia Knittel asked: “Where are we as landlords and cooperatives?” For example, they can only pass on a negligible portion of the costs of installing a heat pump to the rent.
Modernization is not financially feasible in this way.
“What we need is funding!” she appealed.
This is what politicians say:
For the two CSU politicians Bernreiter and Lange, the “traffic lights” in Berlin are to blame for the misery.
There are also external factors such as an increased key interest rate, increases in construction prices and the shortage of skilled workers.
But the government is responsible for the fact that state housing subsidies are unused.
For a long time, Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) attested to living in a different world.
The development in the residential construction sector is “worrying”.
Another obstacle is the excessively high energy standards, which make building more expensive.
Construction Minister Bernreiter said the federal government's goal of wanting to build 400,000 apartments every year.
“It’s as if FC Bayern said: we’ll be German champions this year.” The Free State is trying to boost housing construction with its own billion-dollar funding programs.
“They will be ripped out of my hands,” said Bernreiter.
But the federal states cannot make up for what the federal government is missing.
Especially since many federal states are in a significantly worse financial situation than Bavaria.
Everyone agreed that there needed to be a change in mentality towards more motivation.
“We need a new beginning,” appealed the minister.
“Working less won't work!” In addition, more confidence and reliability is needed from politicians.