Building permits on Sylt fell by 17 percent

Building permits on Sylt fell by 17 percent

The real estate crisis has now also reached the luxurious North Sea island of Sylt. Building permits have fallen by 17 percent, leading experts to fear that the lack of new construction will continue to drive up house prices. This comes at a time when prices are already astronomical. In Kampen, for example, a single-family home on a mudflat and dune property costs at least 16 million euros. Semi-detached or terraced houses are available for 4.4 to 10 million euros.

Last year, the responsible district building authority in Husum, Schleswig-Holstein, only approved the construction of 194 houses and apartments on the island of Sylt - a decrease of 17 percent compared to the previous year. This sharp decline in building permits continues a trend that can also be observed on the German mainland. In January 2024, the number of building permits issued nationwide fell by 23.5 percent compared to the previous year, despite the high demand for living space in many regions of Germany.

The shortage of supply could lead to rising prices on the real estate market - both for second homes, holiday apartments and permanent apartments. Sylt locals could be particularly hard hit by rising property prices, which could mean that many can no longer afford their own island and are forced to move to the mainland. Increased construction costs, expensive materials, higher interest rates and demanding energy standards contribute to this difficult development. Realtors on the island are therefore calling for standards to be lowered in order to reduce the costs of building a house.