As of today, Germany has the lowest level of property ownership in the EU. According to the official government data, only 42.1% of families own housing units they live in directly, while the remaining 57.9% of families live in rented houses and apartments.
Moreover, recent survey conducted by Interhyp, major German mortgage broker, showed that the majority of tenants in Germany do not believe that their financial capacity allows them to consider buying their own property in the near future, and therefore, plan to continue renting houses and apartments.
“Many of those we contacted with tend to believe that real estate prices are rising immeasurably,” said Joerg Uteht, CEO of the Interhyp group.
To change this situation, the largest political party in Germany’s ruling coalition (SPD) has announced that it plans to launch an initiative to help people buy property in Germany.
Kevin Künert, general secretary of the SPD, during an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine (the major German publication) that the ultimate goal of the initiative is to “replace one’s own financial assets”. He also explained that its development is aimed at making it easier to enter the real estate market for families who have a stable income but no considerable savings. “We are currently working with the Ministry of Construction to develop a subsidy program,” he added.
Kühnert also added that the German government is confident about meeting its goal of supporting the housing market and building 40,000 rental units a year “if everyone does their part.” It should be noted that industry experts and associations are more pessimistic, taking into account such factors, as the rising cost of building materials, shrinking labor market, strict regulations and the slow issuance of building permits.
