Municipalities - Increase in the number of completed apartments
In Frankfurt, there were more housing units completed in the previous year. At the same time, the number of building permits issued on the tight housing market of the largest Hessian city decreased. Nevertheless, 3661 housing units were built, which is 24% more than the previous year, stated Planning Dean Marcus Gwechenberger. Meanwhile, the weak construction conjuncture influenced building permits in housing construction: "In 2023, the building supervision Frankfurt issued building permits for 3205 housing units. That's 30% fewer than the previous year, and it's the lowest value since 2010."
According to the reports, over 51,000 housing units were approved in the past ten years, and over 9000 are currently under construction. Currently, work is being done on the further development of funding programs and the designation of additional construction areas to encourage more housing construction applications, as the Dean stated.
According to the building supervision, 459 of the approved housing units came from office and commercial conversions, which corresponds to approximately the previous year's value. The attic conversion therefore increased by 19%. That's pleasing, among other things, because further land sealing will be avoided, said the head of the building supervision, Simone Zapke.
The protection of existing living space was successful: So, 75 illegally converted housing units could be returned to the market. According to the data, 112 applications for a legal short-term conversion of living space for vacation rentals were submitted, of which 74 were approved. That's more than in the previous year but significantly less than in 2018 and 2019, when the numbers were more than double.
Overall, the approved construction volume in 2023 amounted to 721 million euros according to the reports, significantly below average. The largest area was housing construction with only 212 million euros. The second largest investment category were data centers with 151 million euros. "Data centers moved up to second place for the first time," it was stated. Offices ranked third (139 million euros), and the airport reached fourth place with 79 million euros.
- Despite the decrease in building permits in Frankfurt am Main, the Municipality of Frankfurt still managed to complete 3661 housing units, showing a 24% increase compared to the previous year.
- In an attempt to stimulate more housing construction applications, municipalities in Hesse, including Frankfurt, are planning to enhance funding programs and designate extra construction areas.
- The Municipalities of Frankfurt and Hesse issued a total of 459 building permits for office and commercial conversions into housing units, which is consistent with the previous year's value, while the number of attic conversions saw an 19% increase.
