In June 2026, Germany approved permits for the construction of 21,600 homes. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this represents an increase of 2,600 building permits, or 13.8%, compared to June 2025. This total included 17,800 new construction units, a 14.1% rise (2,200 homes), and 3,900 units resulting from the renovation of existing buildings, which is up 12.1% (400 homes) year-over-year.
Looking at the full first half of 2026, building permits for both new and existing structures totaled 126,300 homes. This figure is 15.1% or 16,600 homes higher than the first half of 2025. This latest growth rate is the highest since 2016, which saw 182,800 units approved in the first half of 2016 (+30.4% or +42,700 units). However, the current increase is relative to the notably low figures recorded in the first six months of 2024 and 2025 (106,700 and 109,800 homes, respectively), similar to the low point reached in the first half of 2011 (108,600 homes).
In new residential buildings alone, 103,100 homes were permitted in the first half of 2026-a 15.8% increase or 14,100 more than the previous year. Among single-family houses, approved permits rose by 12.7% (+2,700) to reach 24,000 units. For two-family houses, the number of permitted units increased by 27.3% (+1,700) to 7,700. The largest segment, multi-family housing, saw approval authorities permit 67,000 new units, marking a 16.9% rise (+9,700) compared to the same period last year. In comparison, the number of approved units in nursing homes remained relatively stable, increasing only slightly by 0.9% (+40) to 4,400 homes.
Additionally, 2,400 residential units were approved in new non-residential buildings during the first half of 2026, a substantial increase of 42.7% (+700). These units include specialized housing, such as caretakers’ apartments in schools or units situated in inner-city locations above commercial spaces.
Finally, overall renovation measures in both residential and non-residential buildings accounted for 20,800 permitted units in the first half of 2026. This represents an increase of 9.2% or 1,800 units compared to the same period in 2025.
