Faster housing construction required: Magdeburg is fighting against the housing shortage!

Faster housing construction required: Magdeburg is fighting against the housing shortage!

In Magdeburg the calls for faster housing construction are louder than ever before. The chairman of IG Bau Altmark-Börde-Harz, Thomas Waldheim, has urgently called for the construction of social housing and affordable apartments to be moved forward quickly. As Magdeburger News reports, only 852 new apartments were built in 2024, including 126 single-family and semi-detached houses. This shows a dramatic need for more housing in the city.

The construction costs for last year amounted to an impressive 79.2 million euros. But the reality is bleak: the lack of affordable housing is a nationwide problem. According to IG Bau we have a housing emergency in Germany with a deficit of around 550,000 apartments, of which 35,000 are also missing in Berlin. The trend is alarming, as experts fear a further decline in new construction this year.

Demands for a new building offensive

IG Bau is calling for a comprehensive new construction offensive to create at least 210,000 social housing units annually by 2030, 30,000 of which are in Berlin. Two million social housing units are expected to be built by 2028. However, the number of social housing units is currently only 1.07 million - a decline over the last few decades is unmistakable.

And there are concrete suggestions for reducing construction costs: The study by the ARGE construction research institute suggests reducing construction costs by 25 to 33 percent. The introduction of a so-called building type E is required, which enables simple and efficient construction. Less strict standards and DIN norms could also help to achieve the goal of “good & cheap”. The amount for apartments could be reduced to around 2,920 euros per square meter.

Political responsibility

Politicians are required: The traffic light government had taken up the cause of creating 400,000 new apartments, of which 25 percent should be social housing. However, this target was not achieved. Only 23,000 social housing units were funded in 2023 – a clear decline compared to previous years. Even though the federal government has invested more money in social housing, the costs of building these apartments are increasing significantly.

Another aspect that politicians should keep an eye on, according to BMWSB: Building interest rates have fallen since the end of 2023, which is an opportunity for the could mean a revival of the market. In the fourth quarter of 2024, prices for new homes rose by around 3.1 percent, and the number of new mortgage deals shows a positive trend.

In summary, it can be said that there is an urgent need for action in Magdeburg and throughout Germany. A construction stimulus program to create apartments as well as clear objectives and financing agreements are essential to counteract the chronic burnout in the social housing market. We can only hope that the situation will improve soon and that “good & cheap” will not just remain a pipe dream.