No sustainable recovery in construction demand this decade

The Ifo Institute for Economic Research released the second edition of the ten-year construction forecast for Germany. Real average growth in the construction sector in the next ten years will only amount to ½%. In 2003 construction output will continue to decline, however. Not until 2005, after stagnation in 2004, will output grow by approximately 2%. In residential construction, housing completions will increase next year and reach approximately 340 000 units in 2006. After that the trend will again take a downturn. In non-residential construction, public-sector building will continue to lose importance; in building for the commercial sector, a clear activation of demand will arise by the middle of the decade at the latest.