Crisis mood in Berlin construction: building permits collapse!

Crisis mood in Berlin construction: building permits collapse!

The construction industry in Berlin and Brandenburg crashes: A current survey by Fach community Bau shows that the order situation is worse for many construction companies than ever before. High material prices and bureaucratic hurdles push the industry into a crisis. Katarzyna Urbanczyk-Siwek, managing director of the specialist community, emphasizes: "Even in coronapandemic, the business situation was better than now".

The numbers speak for themselves: Compared to the previous year, building permits for new living space in Brandenburg have decreased by 24 percent and 32 percent in Berlin. The declining trends are alarming; Over 50 percent fewer building permits in Berlin and over 65 percent in Brandenburg compared to the past two years. This development is all the more worrying because the federal government is aiming for 400,000 new apartments annually, but seems to be far from this goal. At the moment, the number is only around 200,000 approved units per year, explains Sebastian Dullien, Scientific Director of the Institute for Macroeconomics and Economic Research (IMK).

bureaucracy and long approval times

The bureaucratic hurdles cause extreme delays: in Berlin, approval periods currently last between five and eight years, while in Hamburg it is only about 1.5 years. Urbanczyk-Siwek demands that the processing processes and the requirements for building applications are simplified and digitized. This is also related to the new "Faster Building Act", which is to come into force in December, but is already at risk of cuts of 50 million euros.

The rbb24 reports that the experts await a trendar at the earliest if the interest of the European Central Bank sinks and a relaxed monetary policy Demand in construction. The current uncertainty makes the business prospects for 2025 appear dark, which continues to put pressure on the industry. However, individual construction projects, such as the new complex in Kalkhorster Straße of the specialist association, which provides 36 new residential units for specialists, show the unbroken will to create new living space despite adverse circumstances.