Housing shortage in Germany: According to experts, there is a shortage of up to 800,000 apartments! And the construction industry can’t keep up. Currently, only around 390,000 apartments are being built. Only half of them will be completed this year. Now an expert has made a surprising statement. According to him, almost two million apartments are empty!
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“The 2022 census found that 1.925 million apartments were vacant,” says Matthias Günther of the Pestel Institute, which monitors the housing market. “Of these apartments, 55 percent had been vacant for twelve months or more.”
Almost two million homes unoccupied – what is the reason?
Often these are apartments that need to be renovated, explains Günther, a graduate economist. The vacancies are found in cities – particularly in those with very high demand for apartments such as Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Wiesbaden – and in rural areas.
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Criticism of the traffic light system because of empty apartments
Günther sees the traffic light coalition as primarily responsible. It has caused a lot of uncertainty for many landlords, including with the heating law. “The uncertainty among the population and therefore among the majority of property owners is enormous,” says the expert. The result: many landlords are waiting to renovate their apartments.
▶︎ Günther demands: “Even small, positive changes in the framework conditions lead to a trend reversal here.”
The construction industry and trade unions are also putting pressure on the traffic light government to reduce vacancy rates. The IG BAU trade union warns: “Lack of housing is social dynamite.”
This is what the Minister of Construction says
Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (48, SPD) is trying to counteract this with state subsidies for renovations. Next month she will launch the “Young Buys Old” program. This will help families buy old houses that need renovation, Geywitz told BILD. In November she will then present a vacancy strategy. Among other things, this will involve reducing empty apartments in rural areas and providing relief in the cities.
