Geschäftsbericht 2015, englisch

15 management report market remained tight in many major metropolitan areas and large cities. Meanwhile, vacancy rates in these cities are so low that rents are continuing to rise as more people move to these areas. In contrast to these prospering cities, many rural regions noted no changes in their above-average vacancy rates and, at best, stagnant rents, because of the demographic development. “Against the background of the major need for housing, discussions concerning the creation of a property bubble in Germany decreased notably during the second half of the year.” Prices accelerated again for owner-occupied residential property as prices for houses (+ 4.8 percent) and condominiums (4.0 per- cent) rose over the previous year’s figures. This was driven by the tight supply of existing housing in many areas as potential sellers were hesi­ tant to sell due to the lack of alternative investment op- portunities. Construction activities in 2015 again lagged behind demand. By the end of November 2015 permits had been issued for the con- struction of 276,000 housing units – new housing units housing units and modernisation projects. This figure was about 16,000 housing units more than in the previous year, or 6.3 percent higher. In contrast, the Federal Ministry for Building has stated that at least 350,000 new housing units must be built annually by 2020 in order to stop the upward development of prices driven by excess demand. However, the vdp estimates that only about 250,000 new housing units were built in 2015. Against the background of the major need for housing, discus- sions concerning the creation of a property bubble in Germany decreased notably during the second half of the year. According to the Bundesbank’s 2015 Financial Stability Review there are still no signs of macro-economic, crisis-like developments in the resi- dential property market, despite clearly rising property prices in recent years. It was noted that a combination of rising property prices, speculative building activities, excessive lending and an easing of lending standards would be dangerous. Based on state- ments made by the Bundesbank, the increase in the volume of property loans is actually moderate when viewed on a long-term basis. Furthermore, according to a study prepared by the vdp, which examined the structures of residential property financing in 2015, lending practices still remain safety-oriented. Moreover, the por- tion of equity capital provided by borrowers who sought loans to buy a condominium even rose slightly. * 2015 = estimated Source: German Federal Statistics Office Figures in 000 | Residential Building Permits in Germany 2004 – 2015 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 0 100 200 300 400 269 240 248 182 175 178 188 228 241 272 285 300* 200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015 240248 182175178188

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