Overview

• Official data show 110,000 building permits were granted in the first half of 2025, up 2.9 percent year-on-year from a post-2010 low.
• Approvals for single-family houses surged 14.1 percent to 21,300 units while multi-family permits barely budged at 57,300 units.
• June approvals jumped 7.9 percent year-on-year to 19,000 dwellings even as last year’s completions fell to 251,900, the fewest since 2015, and the average permit-to-completion interval extended to 26 months.
• Industry leaders warn that high interest rates, expensive construction materials and scarce urban land continue to stall rental housing despite the government’s mid-2025 Bau-Turbo streamlining plan.
• Euroconstruct and the Ifo Institute forecast completions will drop to about 205,000 in 2025 and 185,000 in 2026 before recovering in 2027, highlighting a drawn-out supply squeeze.