In view of the housing shortage in the metropolises, the Association of Towns and Municipalities has called for people to use apartments in the country. It is hardly noticed that “more than 1.3 million marketable apartments, especially in rural areas, are empty,” said general manager Gerd Landsberg of the Funke media group. “It would therefore make sense to better develop these regions with good transport connections, for example through new or reactivated railway lines, so that people can live and live there well and inexpensively.” Working from home creates new opportunities here.

“Unfortunately, we are not getting any closer to our goal with the call for ever cheaper rents or even the nationalization of housing associations,” said Landsberg. The demand for apartments, especially in the metropolitan regions, is increasing unabated.

The federal government’s goal of completing 400,000 new apartments per year is “barely achievable,” Landsberg stated. There is a lack of land, building prices have risen significantly and there is also a lack of specialist companies that could erect the buildings. Rising interest rates are making financing more difficult, and the increasing demands for energy-efficient refurbishment are making construction even more expensive.

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