Data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that in May, building permits for apartments decreased by 24.2% per annum, to 17,800 permits. Thus, the rate of decline accelerated compared to April (-17% per annum). Meanwhile, compared to May 2023, building permits for apartments decreased by 43.9%.
Destatis also reported that from the beginning of the year (to May) building permits for apartments fell by 21.5% per annum, to 89,000 permits.
A total of 14,100 apartments were approved for new residential buildings in May 2024. This was 25.9% or 5,000 apartments fewer than in the same month last year. From January to May 2024, 71,400 new apartments were approved, 24.0% or 22,600 apartments fewer than in the same period last year. The number of building permits for single-family homes fell by 31.5% (-7,100) to 15,500.
Germany's property sector, in its third year of decline, is undergoing its most severe slump in decades.