Germany's residential building permits fall to 2010 low

By Klaus Lauer

BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of residential building permits granted in Germany last year fell to its lowest level since 2010, demonstrating the deep crisis of a real estate market that is held back by red tape, high construction costs and interest rates.

German authorities gave the green light for just 215,900 buildings, 43,700 or 16.8% fewer than in the previous year, data from the German statistics office showed on Tuesday.

"This development stands in stark contrast to the housing shortage that continues to be lamented in major cities," said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank. "It's surprising that this issue has received so little attention in the election campaign."

There is currently no sign of an improvement. According to the German Property Federation (ZIA), the number of approvals for this year is only likely to be around 210,000 - this would be a 45% slump compared to 2023.

"We have a huge gap between what needs to be built and what is currently being built and will come onto the market in the next few years," said Ralph Henger from the German Economic Institute (IW).

The numbers are far below the German government's target of 400,000 new units per year.

(Reporting by Klaus Lauer; Writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Ludwig Burger)