In the Construction industry the mood brightens a bit. The business climate index determined by the ifo Institute for the housing
rose from minus 22.7 to minus 20.9 points in January. “Companies were somewhat more satisfied with their current business. Expectations also brightened,” said the ifo Institute in Munich.
The number of new apartments approved has increased again in recent months. This is now slowly being felt, said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of ifo surveys. However, so far there has been little impact on operational business. “See you realize the increased housing construction permits in ordersit takes patience.”
The construction industry hopes for an end to the crisis
In January, the proportion of companies reporting too few orders rose from 47.7 to 49.8 percent. The proportion of companies reporting canceled construction projects, however, remained almost unchanged and fell slightly from 11.5 to 11.1 percent. “In addition, the icy weather also reduced construction activity in January in many places,” said Wohlrabe.
Construction still suffers from higher costs. However, the industry is hoping for this Impulses from the planned additional government spending on infrastructure. The Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDB) announced in December that there would be an increase in sales of 2.5 percent for 2026. “The construction industry has bottomed out,” ZDB President Wolfgang Schubert-Raab said at the time. In particular, the special funds from the 500 billion euro pot for modernizing the infrastructure provided a perspective. “After years of declining figures, confidence is returning to the construction industry for the first time.”
