Overview
- Official data published in mid‑July 2026 put Germany’s housing stock at about 44.0 million units at the end of 2025, with the average dwelling 94.0 square metres and 49.5 square metres of living space per person.
- Building permits have climbed in 2026, with 21,000 apartments approved in May and 104,700 approvals for January–May, signaling a rebound in the approval pipeline.
- Permits are an early indicator but do not equal completed homes: completions fell to roughly 206,600 units in 2025, the lowest annual total since 2012, creating a gap between approvals and finished supply.
- Industry groups warn that high construction and financing costs, plus detailed technical and legal standards, are causing many approved projects to be delayed, scaled back or canceled, with tens of thousands of permits lapsing in 2025.
- Policymakers are developing measures to speed and cut the cost of building — including a 'Bau‑Turbo' for faster procedures, revived energy‑efficiency subsidies and a proposed simplified building type called 'Gebäudetyp E' — but the plans are still being drafted and debated.