As Germany battles with an acute housing shortage, the decline in numbers of building permits issued eased slightly in October when the construction of 22,500 new homes was authorized.
This was still 11.5% or 2,900 units fewer than a year earlier, but the highest number so far in 2023, the central statistics office in Wiesbaden said.
Despite the high demand for living space, the number of building permits has been falling for months, due to expensive building materials and a sharp rise in interest rates.
In the first 10 months of the year, only 218,100 new homes were approved, 26.7% fewer than in the same period last year. The target of 400,000 new homes per year originally set by the German government is a long way off.
The figures include building permits for flats in new buildings as well as conversions. From January to October, a total of 179,800 flats were built in new buildings. This was 29.8% fewer than in the same period last year.
The statisticians observed the sharpest declines in approvals for two-family homes - down 50.5%.
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