The economic situation remains difficult for the East German construction industry. Both turnover and order volume fell slightly in the first half of the year. Only in commercial construction did revenues increase slightly, according to the Construction Industry Association East. "The strong downward trend observed at the beginning of the year, particularly in terms of demand for construction services, only slowed down significantly at the end of the first half of 2024," it said. "A recovery is not yet in sight."
According to the association, the total order volume amounted to around 9.5 billion euros in the first six months of this year. Taking inflation into account, this was a decline of around five percent compared to the same period last year.
The only area in which demand increased significantly was public construction. Here, the order value increased nominally, i.e. without factoring in inflation, by more than ten percent to around four billion euros. In residential construction, incoming orders fell by 7.6 percent in nominal terms to 1.3 billion euros.
The situation in the sector also remains tense in terms of turnover. Price-adjusted revenues fell by more than five percent to 9.6 billion euros in the first half of the year. Sales stagnated in public construction and fell significantly in residential construction. Only commercial construction increased.
A look at the development of building permits also leads to the conclusion that a turnaround in the construction industry is not to be expected in the near future,
the association added.
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