Overview

• Building authorities approved just 561 new apartments in Q1 2025, a nearly 33% drop from 833 in the same period last year.
• Vacancy rates have fallen under 4% not only in university towns like Rostock and Greifswald but across all cities with more than 45,000 residents.
• High financing charges and soaring construction expenses have deterred builders and left projects unprofitable without government support.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned that Germany still lacks at least 500,000 homes, highlighting the scale of the national shortage.
• The Verband norddeutscher Wohnungsunternehmen is calling for a lean northern building code to cut red tape and accelerate new construction.