Overview

• BBU member companies invested a record €2.9 billion in 2024 with an expected increase to €3.9 billion in 2025, but surging construction and financing costs have eroded the real value of these outlays.
• Member firms now anticipate completing approximately 5,270 units in 2025, barely surpassing the 2024 total of 5,214 and remaining well below Germany’s annual housing target.
• Housing starts are set to rebound from a historic low of 3,242 in 2024 to about 6,486 in 2025, signaling pipeline recovery ahead of delayed completions.
• The BBU is lobbying to secure €1.5 billion in state new-construction subsidies and to relax building standards in order to reduce costs and accelerate project delivery.
• Following court rulings against Vonovia’s rent-increase practices, the BBU is pushing to tighten Paragraph 5 of the economic criminal code and double maximum fines to €100,000 to deter rent gouging.