Building completions collapse dramatically: IVD calls for real residential construction turbo
The crisis on the housing market continues to intensify. As the Federal Statistical Office announced today, only 206,600 apartments were completed nationwide in 2025. This is 18 percent less than in the previous year and the lowest value since 2012. In 2024, the number of building completions had already slumped significantly by 14.4 percent. IVD President Dirk Wohltorf explains:
"The dramatic slump in building completions shows that there can be no talk of an easing of the housing market. Those who are already satisfied because of the construction turbo or slightly increasing approval figures are ignoring the harsh reality. For apartment seekers and families who want to own their own home, what is planned or approved does not count. The decisive factor is what is actually built and can be occupied.
Now is not the time for new regulation and the management of the shortage. Even stricter rent regulation does not solve the housing issue – it further tightens investment conditions. The order of the day is deregulation: fewer regulations, simpler procedures and consistently only minimum building standards instead of ever new requirements.
Anyone who wants to create home ownership must finally provide effective support for families. The state should waive real estate transfer tax on owner-occupied residential property. In addition, equity-replacing guarantees and targeted interest subsidies are needed. Because the dream of owning a home today often fails not because of the will, but because of a lack of equity and the hurdles and costs caused by the state.
Germany does not need a planning turbo on its own. Germany needs a real housing construction turbo. Construction must become faster, easier and more cost-effective. This is the only way to create the apartments that are urgently needed."
