Permits for housing construction rebound in 2025, German statistics office says

BERLIN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The number of permits for housing construction rose in 2025 for the first time after three years of declines, data by the German Statistics Office showed on Wednesday.

Permits were granted for the construction of 238,500 residential units in new and existing buildings last year, a 10.8% rise compared to 2024, when they fell to their lowest level since 2010, the office said.

The number of reported building permits is an early indicator of future construction activity.

Rising interest rates and high material costs had weighed on the industry in recent years.

"The mood in the industry has improved and investments are also on the rise," said German Minister for Construction Verena Hubertz.

A reduction in bureaucracy as well as subsidy programmes will ensure that the positive trend continues in 2026, she added.

The trade union-affiliated German Macroeconomic Policy Institute, or IMK, said the increase in building permits was a clear sign of a turnaround.

"The construction industry is now going from a brake on growth to a driver of it," said the institute's Scientific Director Sebastian Dullien.

The German construction industry association, however, warned against premature enthusiasm. "Not everything that is approved will actually be built," said Tim-Oliver Mueller, the association's chief.

According to a spring report by real estate experts, only just over 200,000 new residential units are likely to be built this year. A study by the Pestel Institute showed a shortage of 1.4 million homes in Germany.

To reduce the deficit by 2030, around 400,000 new homes would need to be built each year.