The mood in the housing‑construction sector is improving further. The Ifo Business Climate index rose from -20.8 in January to -17.6 in February, announced the Ifo institute on Monday. Companies assess their current situation more positively, and scepticism in their expectations has fallen sharply. “The mood has improved, but the industry still isn’t over the hill” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys. “The revival hasn’t yet manifested itself in the order books”.
A look at demand shows the sector is still not out of trouble. The proportion of housing‑construction firms complaining about too few orders fell slightly in February, from 49.8 % to 48.0 %. At the same time, a marginally higher share of companies reported cancelled projects: that figure rose from 11.1 % to 11.3 %. Wohlrabe added, “The order situation remains unsatisfactory for many firms, although first small improvements are emerging”.
