"The economic engine named construction sector keeps humming. We expect a growth in sales of 5.5% to €120 bn. For 2019, we anticipate a similar growth rate between +5% and 6%. The number of persons employed will also increase slightly in 2019", Felix Pakleppa, chief executive of the Central Associatoin of the German Construction Industry (ZDB), says.
A particularly notable increase in construction works was observed in the 1H in the residential building sector with +9%. In total, Germany saw almost 170,000 residential construction permits (new construction and renovation) until the end of June. Main drive was apartment house construction. In this sector, around 138,000 housing units are expected to be completed until the end of the year which would be 12% more than last year. "For 2019, we forecast the completion of around 148,000 apartments which is a plus of 7%", Pakleppa explains.
The completion rate of single- and double-family houses is expected to roughly reach the same level in 2018 as in previous years (about 106,000 to 108,000 units), the ZDB claims. The completion forecast for 2018 is 300,000 apartments and for 2019 315,000.
With regard to selling prices of construction services, the Federal Statistical Office reported price increases of more than 4% for the 1H compared to the same period last year. Developments of prices for construction prices are mainly a consequence of price increases for purchased materials (such as reinforced concrete +20%, wood +4.7%, mineral products such as concrete +3%) and tariff increases (minimum wage +4%; for skilled labor +6%).
