Permissions for residential construction in Germany have gained considerable strength in the first half of the year, but the industry admonishes that this does not mean a quick revival of activity.
The total of new permissions for residential units granted from January through June, at 126,000, was 15% above the figure of the first half of 2025, according to the federal statistics office, Destatis. This was the strongest increase since 2016, the office notes. However, it also cautions that the current increase comes from a relatively low level last year. By comparison, the total in H1 2016 was 182,000 units.
Despite the apparent upsurge of orders, construction association Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie cautions that this does not automatically translate into orders, which are still sluggish. High interest rates and high costs for building “keep holding residential construction in a stranglehold,” it says.
According to a survey by economic institute ifo, more than one third of companies in the sector anticipate a negative development in the second half of the year. In the first five months of the year, the industry’s order intake dipped by 2%, Kallanish hears.
The association’s manager, Oliver Müller, calls on the federal government to address the crisis in residential construction, which he says has been lasting for five years now. Müller says political institutions “need to pave a way for easy construction in their guidelines and abolish unnecessary requirements”.
In an earlier statement, Hauptverband referred to a poll among the general public, which showed that the shortage of apartments goes together with concern over the deficiencies in Germany’s transport infrastructure.
