Anyone looking for a new flat currently needs patience above all else. The housing shortage is becoming increasingly noticeable. One reason for this is the low number of new builds. An integrated home ownership policy could at least alleviate the housing shortage.
While purchase prices for condominiums and houses are stagnating, rental prices are continuing to rise. The reason: there are fewer and fewer rental flats on offer, while demand remains high. This is shown by the IW Housing Index. A recent study by Bulwiengesa has determined the demand for housing in Germany: According to the study, 420,000 new flats will be needed each year until 2028. New construction will not be able to meet this demand in the foreseeable future. Between 2013 and 2023, the population in Germany grew by eight per cent. During the same period, however, only around 260,000 flats were completed in Germany each year.
"The issue of home ownership plays a central role in a holistic housing policy," said Guido Beermann, President of the German Association for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning (DV). Younger people currently have hardly any prospects of becoming homeowners, although most of them would like to do so. "Promoting home ownership is part of a holistic housing policy that ultimately benefits society as a whole," says Michael Groschek, former construction minister of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The acquisition of residential property mobilises private capital from citizens for housing construction, while at the same time increasing wealth equity and improving private pension provision. In this way, it is possible to take the pressure off the tight rental housing markets, create housing on a broad front, strengthen social cohesion and modernise the building stock at the same time.
The German Association is calling on the federal government to present an interdepartmental funding strategy for home ownership that also includes the existing housing stock. In addition to improved family support, this also includes the launch of a new "Young buys old" programme for the purchase of existing properties.
Photo / Graphic: © Grabener Verlag, Kiel, 2024
