German building construction: further growth expected

For 2012 the consultants see great potential in the building of new apartment blocks. In addition, OC&C expects a growing market for detached and semi-detached houses and commercial construction and a slight increase in the renovation volume. Only public building construction is set for a substantial decline. The currently high demand for new living space will tail off in the mid-term.

For housing construction, OC&C expects this year 3-% growth for private newbuilds and 4-% growth for commercial newbuilds. Newbuilds in non-housing construction are growing a moderate rate of 1.3%, although for public new building a decline of 1% is expected. For the renovation segment, which accounts for two thirds of the market volume and is more important than newbuild segment, OC&C forecasts for 2012 1.4-% growth in hou­sing construction and 1.1-% growth in non-housing construction. The renovation volume is already on a very high level, so there is not much room overall for any further increase. With a slowdown in growth, OC&C expects stagnation to set in by 2014.