Germany approved roughly 20,600 dwellings in August, 6.8% more than a year before. Both new construction and work on existing buildings contributed to the increase. Approvals for dwellings created through alterations rose 18.2% year on year, while those for dwellings in new buildings increased 4.2%. The faster percentage growth therefore came from the smaller part of the market.
Permission is a specific milestone. It does not say whether a project has secured finance, awarded a building contract or started work on site. For firms allocating crews or ordering materials, the time between approval and the actual start can matter as much as the number of permits issued.
Late reporting by local authorities can also shift approvals between statistical months. A longer window helps put those movements in perspective. From January to August, approvals for dwellings in both new and existing buildings were 12.1% higher than in the same period a year earlier. That measures potential supply, rather than homes already available to occupy.