Germany has a shortage of around 1.4 million homes, particularly affordable and social housing. To reduce this deficit by 2030, around 400,000 new homes would need to be built each year. However, this is unlikely to happen in the coming years.
In November 2025, 20,100 dwellings were approved for construction. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this was 12.5 per cent more than in November 2024. Between January and November 2025, 215,500 dwellings in new and existing buildings were approved in Germany. This was 11.3 per cent or 21,900 apartments more than in the same period of the previous year. The number of building permits for single-family homes rose by 17.0 per cent and for multi-family homes, the most numerous type of building, by 13.5 per cent.
The BFW Federal Association of Independent Real Estate and Housing Companies is cautious in its assessment of the figures. "Housing construction is far behind what would be necessary to ease the pressure on the housing market in our country. And approved does not mean built. The start of construction is the decisive indicator: initial analyses show us that construction starts are not yet picking up," emphasises BFW President Dirk Salewski.
Only with affordable and practical standards can housing construction reach its full potential and relieve pressure on the housing market. Experts agree: Building type E offers new opportunities and must become the new normal.
"The figures are encouraging – but they must not obscure the fact that we still urgently need structural relief," explains ZIA Chief Executive Aygül Özkan. Stable growth figures can only be achieved with pragmatic reforms, for example in building type E or in the amendment to the BauGB (German Building Code). "Building type E must be designed as a clearly defined, cost-optimised basic standard – not as a complicated special model with additional liability risks," says Özkan. At the same time, the ZIA is calling for a bold amendment to the Building Code that facilitates housing construction, digitises procedures and streamlines regulations.
Photo: © Edgar Winkler, Pixabay
