The number of housing permits in Germany increased significantly in the first half of the year, but industry representatives warn that this does not mean a rapid revival of activity. According to the federal statistical office Destatis, the total number of new permits for the construction of residential units issued from January to June was 126,000, which is 15% higher than in the first half of 2025. This was the most significant increase since 2016, the agency notes. However, it also warns that the current growth is due to the relatively low level of last year. For comparison, in the first half of 2016, the total number of units was 182,000.
Despite the obvious increase in orders, the construction association Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie warns that this does not automatically lead to an increase in orders, which remain sluggish. High interest rates and high construction costs "continue to constrain housing construction," it says.
According to a survey by the IFO Economic Institute, more than a third of companies in the sector expect negative developments in the second half of the year. According to Callanish, in the first five months of this year, the volume of orders in the industry decreased by 2%.
The head of the association, Oliver Muller, calls on the federal government to solve the problem of the housing crisis, which, according to him, has been going on for five years. Mueller says that political institutions "need to include simplification of construction in their guidelines and eliminate unnecessary requirements."
In its previous statement, the Hauptverband referred to an opinion poll that showed that the shortage of apartments was combined with concerns about the shortcomings of Germany's transport infrastructure.
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, ,, Author: Christian Kel Germany
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