Markus Lanz speechless: The German construction industry in the stranglehold of the "deadly cycle"

The Construction Dilemma That Affects Us All

Imagine this: Your country urgently needs more housing, housing is a hot topic, but the construction industry is shrinking! Sounds crazy, right? This is precisely the paradoxical reality that construction expert Matthias Günther ruthlessly revealed. According to Günther, the construction industry is in the process of massively reducing capacities, and even building material factories have had to close. The reason? Lack of demand.

The "Deadly Cycle" Has Become Reality

Markus Lanz could hardly believe it. "We are reducing capacities because the demand is not there, even though we urgently need new and more housing? Is this the deadly cycle we are currently in?" The expert's confirmation was a simple but shocking "Exactly." This vicious cycle of lacking demand despite immense need makes the current situation of the German construction industry so precarious.

The Bare Numbers Don't Lie: How Bad It Really Is

The official statistics speak volumes: In 2024, only 251,900 apartments were completed in Germany. This is a dramatic decline of over 42,500 units compared to the previous year and the lowest figure since 2015. The original goal of the federal government of 400,000 new apartments per year seems under these circumstances a distant fantasy.

What Does the Construction Minister Say? Promises and a "Construction Turbo"

Clearly, in such a situation, the responsible Construction Minister, Verena Hubertz from the SPD, had to answer questions. She promised that they would "continue to invest massively in housing construction." At the end of May, she had already announced an optimistic "construction turbo." However, she did not want to commit to specific numbers—a wise move, considering that her predecessor failed spectacularly with an ambitious 400,000-apartment goal.

The Solution Is to Be "Serial Modular"

One approach to getting the construction industry back on track and reducing costs, according to Hubertz, is the so-called "serial modular" construction method. This means that walls are pre-cut and cables pre-laid before the components arrive at the construction site. This is supposed to be "super fast and also much cheaper." Whether this approach can really break the "deadly cycle" remains to be seen. One thing is clear: Time is of the essence.

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.