Real estate market: One year of construction turbo: Minister sees first effects

Berlin. Federal Construction Minister Verena Hubertz (SPD) sees positive effects of the so-called construction turbo: It is being put into practice, and the first results of monitoring are remarkable, she said in Berlin. “But it’s also clear: we’re just getting started.”

The Construction Turbo is an instrument from the Ministry of Construction that is intended to reduce bureaucratic hurdles in housing construction. It came into force in October 2025. Building permits should thus be issued more quickly and easily. However, participation by municipalities is voluntary. The ministry does not have data on how many municipalities use the instrument.

In a survey, only 393 of the almost 11,000 municipalities in Germany responded. The ministry itself says: These figures are not representative.

According to estimates, there is a shortage of around one million apartments in Germany. Affordable living space is scarce, especially in metropolitan areas. Last year, fewer apartments were completed in Germany than since 2012: 206,600 completed units represented a decline of 18 percent compared to the previous year.

“Overall, we probably won’t see the first apartments built with the construction turbo until next year,” said Hubertz. According to the Federal Statistical Office, building permits actually increased in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. It is not clear how many of these were accelerated or made possible by the construction turbo.

However: Approved apartments do not mean that they will actually be completed. The sticking point here: financing. Building is expensive and new projects often fail because of money. Hubertz also admitted: "It's also true that construction costs have simply continued to rise in recent years. Due to war, the crisis, the change in interest rates. That's causing problems for the construction sites." Therefore, we also have to look more closely at the construction costs.