German Real Estate Day 2026 in Erfurt is open
With an urgent appeal for more trust in the market economy, in owners, landlords, investors and the real estate industry, Dirk Wohltorf, President of the German Real Estate Association IVD, today opened the German Real Estate Day 2026 (DIT) in Erfurt's Steigerwald Stadium. In front of around 1,000 participants, he called for a fundamental political change of course in order to make home ownership accessible again for broad sections of the population and to relieve the housing market in the long term.
"Anyone who earns normal income in Germany must be able to acquire normal residential property," Wohltorf quoted Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the beginning of his keynote speech. At the same time, he made it clear that there is an ever-increasing gap between this political claim and reality: High real estate transfer taxes of up to 6.5 percent, often escalating requirements for borrowers, excessive building standards and a large number of regulatory hurdles often prevent the path to ownership.
Home ownership as a central component of the promise of advancement
Under the motto "Trust instead of general suspicion", Wohltorf criticised the housing policy framework conditions. Owners, landlords and investors are too often presented as a problem, although they make a significant contribution to the creation and safeguarding of housing. "Property formation decides on assets, retirement provision, security and social participation. If performance can no longer lead to ownership, our country will lose one of its most important promises of advancement," explained the IVD president. The association is therefore calling for a consistent property offensive. These include, in particular, the complete exemption from real estate transfer tax for first-time buyers as well as equity-replacing loans for families and first-time buyers.
