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.
Rebalancing tenancy law
Wohltorf was also critical of current developments in tenancy law. Tenant protection is important, but must not lead to investments often no longer being feasible or market mechanisms being overridden. He made this clear with a current example from his brokerage practice: In the case of a 45-square-metre, well-kept apartment in a beautiful and quiet neighbourhood of Berlin-Mitte, where the landlord would already expose himself to the risk of a high fine for rent increase according to § 5 WiStG with a net rent of 382.32 euros, the tightening of tenancy law currently being discussed should be implemented. A rent index that moves further and further away from the market due to the regulated rents on which it is based, politically wanted, does not contribute to making it easier for low-income earners to find an affordable apartment for them, but to the fact that average and higher earners can afford more and more living space because rents are so cheap. “The best tenant protection is a functioning housing market with sufficient supply,” says Wohltorf. Private landlords must once again be seen as partners in solving the housing question and not as addressees of ever new burdens.
“The real estate industry is ready to take responsibility. However, for this to happen, it needs political framework conditions that create trust and enable investment,” Wohltorf concluded.
Over two days, the DIT 2026 in Erfurt offers space for exchange on what needs to happen in terms of construction and housing policy, for technical discussions and future impulses for the entire real estate industry.
