Fewer new apartments approved again in September

The approval of new apartments in Germany continues to falter. In September, the authorities gave the go-ahead for 27,449 new units, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Friday. That was 9.1 percent less than in the same month last year. This intensified the negative trend from the previous months: After nine months, the number of permits at 272,054 is now 3.7 percent behind the same period of the previous year. More than 10,000 fewer apartments were approved.

The number of newly approved single-family homes fell particularly sharply in the first three quarters. A drop of 11,173 homes, or 15.4 percent, meant 61,509 permits. One reason is the expiry of the Baukindergeld, which was still valid in part of the comparison period in 2021.

The number of building permits is an important indicator of the housing shortage in many cities. However, approved apartments are often not built at first because craftsmen and construction companies do not have the capacity. Increased prices for building materials and building land are also slowing down.

The situation in construction has now become precarious, said the Central Association of the Construction Industry. The energy crisis and inflation weighed heavily on private households and the construction industry. Orders fell and housing costs rose, leading to mass cancellations. Expectations for the next six months are worse than they have been since 1981. The association called for more and faster public funding for housing construction.

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