German housing shortage hits highest level in 20 years - ZIA

BERLIN (Reuters) - Real estate experts expect a further decline in new residential construction in Germany next year, according to the spring report of the German Property Federation (ZIA) presented on Tuesday.

The housing shortage is likely to have reached its highest level in 20 years, the ZIA said, and the gap between supply and demand may widen to 700,000 buildings in the next few years, ZIA's president Andreas Mattner said.

The report blamed rising financing costs due to higher interest rates and big price rises for building materials or the decline in new residential building.

The construction industry had warned last year that a dramatic decline in residential construction was imminent. In 2022, about 280,000 apartments had been completed, while it is expected that about 245,000 will be finished this year.

German Housing Minister Klara Geywitz acknowledged in January that the government's new construction target of 400,000 apartments per year would be missed in 2002 and in 2023. The mood in the construction industry has deteriorated recently, she said at the report presentation.

(Reporting by Holger Hansen und Klaus Lauer. Writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Madeline Chambers)