The construction industry in eastern Germany is looking ahead to 2024 with a tense outlook due to the crisis in residential construction. The significant rise in interest rates and the still high construction prices have caused both incoming orders and the number of building permits to shrink, said Robert Momberg, Managing Director of the Construction Industry Association East. "This does not bode well for residential construction, where the crisis has fully arrived." In other areas such as civil engineering or commercial construction, the situation is still somewhat better.
Incoming orders in residential construction in eastern Germany fell by 27.6 percent in the first ten months. Even more cause for concern, however, were the building permits, which fell by as much as 38 percent compared to the same period last year. "What is not approved today will not be built in two years' time," said Momberg. In this respect, the building permits are a gloomy outlook for the future.
Over all sectors, the situation in eastern German construction is "ambivalent", said Momberg. "The sales figures are not that bad." Revenue increased by 4.5 percent in the first three quarters. However, this figure does not yet take into account current price developments, and incoming orders were also down by 4.3 percent. According to a flash survey by the trade and employers' association, half of the construction companies expect turnover to fall in 2024.
Short-time work is now an issue for a number of member companies, said Momberg. "The first redundancies have already been announced." Just under 60 percent of companies expected their employee numbers to remain stable. However, just over 20 percent also expected employment to fall. Just as many companies expected an increase in employment.
The Construction Industry Association East represents the interests of 260 construction companies with around 20,000 employees in Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
Copyright 2024, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
