Berlin suffers from housing shortage: prices and interest too high, approval numbers decrease

Berlin suffers from housing shortage: prices and interest too high, approval numbers decrease

An end to the housing shortage in Germany is not foreseeable, especially in metropolitan areas like Berlin. Around 13,000 new apartments are being built in the capital annually, while 65,000 people are increasing per year. However, renting or buying an apartment remains unaffordable for most people. This is not only due to the scarcity of the offer, but also due to the increased prices and in particular the high interest rates. Housing companies can either no longer invest in housing construction or rents would have to be raised to a level that is unaffordable for most households. This leads to concrete problems such as poverty in old age, challenges for young families and a disability of the immigration of specialists.

According to Tim-Oliver Müller, managing director of the main association of the German construction industry, it is necessary for someone who wants to buy an 80-square-meter apartment in large cities to earn between 8000 and 10,000 euros net every month. This is not affordable for most people. In August 2022, the orders in housing construction already broke up by 23.8 percent and declined by another 6.5 percent in August of this year. In the first eight months of this year, sales in the construction industry were 4.0 percent below compared to the same period last year, and even 10.8 percent in housing construction. The approval figures for construction projects have been falling for months and it is expected that only around 200,000 instead of the intended 400,000 apartments will be built in the coming year.

Tim-Oliver Müller criticizes the inactivity of the federal government and accuses her of setting the wrong priorities. The construction industry is calling for a KfW interest rate program for buildings with the standard EH55 in order to be able to implement already approved projects. If there were loans for housing projects with two percent interest, tens of thousands of apartments could be built in the coming year and rents possible at 10 or 12 euros per square meter.

According to Müller, construction companies and craftsmen turn away from housing if no apartments are built. There is a clear order plus for the entire construction industry, which is mainly due to large -scale projects in railway construction. The order intake in housing is still declining. Sales in the main building industry also show no significant improvement.

This article shows the continued shortage of housing in Berlin and the effects on housing construction. The high prices and interest rates make it impossible for most people to rent or buy an apartment. The political measures to remedy the situation have so far been inadequate. The construction industry is calling for an interest ranking program to promote the construction of apartments. Otherwise there is a risk of a shortage of skilled workers and a decline in construction projects. It is uncertain whether the situation can be improved in the foreseeable future.

according to a report by www.berliner-zeitung.de