Construction offensive in NRW: Government now wants to turbo-boost housing construction!

Construction offensive in NRW: Government now wants to turbo-boost housing construction!

The federal government is planning a comprehensive reform to accelerate the housing market. The aim of this reform is to eliminate the difficulties faced by builders and architects in North Rhine-Westphalia. These problems are exacerbated by, among other things, outdated technologies in municipal building authorities, absences of skilled workers due to illness or vacation and a general shortage of staff. The lack of specialists in the construction industry and the lack of financial resources to pay staff adequately means that building applications take months to process. The situation is also made more difficult by increasing levels of regulation and new regulations on insulation and safety. That's what she reports South German newspaper.

The housing market challenge is further influenced by economic conditions since the Russian attack on Ukraine. The increased interest rates and construction costs are hindering new housing construction in Germany. However, the federal government has taken measures to support both housing and the construction industry. Fortunately, building interest rates have fallen significantly since the end of 2023, which is leading to an increasing number of new mortgage agreements and thus a revival of the housing market Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection explained.

Trends and statistics in housing construction

Housing construction accounted for 57% of the total construction volume in Germany in 2023, which represents a significant increase compared to 52.6% in 2009. Despite a slight decline in 2021, the development of multi-storey apartment construction since 2005 has shown a positive trend. Construction completions remained constant in 2023, supported by the activation of projects from the construction backlog, including 826,800 apartments, of which 390,900 are under construction.

The regional differences in population development are striking. While some metropolises are recording growth, structurally weak regions are struggling with declines. Asking rents vary greatly depending on the region, with the highest prices expected in metropolitan areas. In 2023, 49,591 social housing units were supported, which corresponds to an increase of 21% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the stock of social rental apartments fell to around 1.07 million apartments at the end of 2023, which corresponds to a decrease of 18,000 apartments compared to the previous year.

Building land prices and ownership rate

Prices for building plots in large cities with over 600,000 inhabitants were around 1,000 euros per square meter in 2022, an increase of 78% since 2017. This huge price increase has a significant impact on housing construction and housing affordability. In addition, the ownership rate in Germany was 43.7% in 2022, although there are regional differences: In large cities, the ownership rate often has values ​​below 16%, while rural districts reach over 70%.

The statistical data also shows that around 1.9 million apartments were vacant nationwide as of the census on May 15, 2022, which corresponds to 4.5% of the housing stock. A positive aspect is that the share of renewable energies for heating in residential construction rose to 44% in 2022, which represents a step towards more sustainable construction.