Germany's residential construction drops to 13-year low

BERLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - ‌Residential ​construction ​in Germany dropped to a 13-year low in 2025, hurt by ‌higher building costs and interest rates, ⁠putting pressure on the government to step up ‌deregulation and support construction ‌efforts.

The number of residential units completed last year in houses, apartment blocks ​or other buildings dropped by 18% to 206,600, the national statistics office ⁠said on Friday, the lowest level since 2012 after two ​consecutive years of decline.

• "Construction is still simply too complex, too expensive, ​too heavily regulated, and ‌it takes too long," said Ludwig Dorffmeister, a sector expert at ⁠economic think tank Ifo

• Ifo expects completed residential units to drop further to 185,000 ⁠this year

• Germany's Construction Minister Verena Hubertz said ​those were "bad numbers", but added building permits were on the rise and state support for ‌construction to benefit low-income households was at record highs

• In March ‌2026, construction permits were up 11.5% ⁠year-on-year at 21,800 ‌residential units during ​the month

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and René Wagner, editing by Thomas ‌Seythal)

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