Germany's property sector is in stress, underscoring a major change of fortune for real estate in Europe's largest economy after an end to the era of cheap money.
In the latest signs of stress in the sector, Germany's largest real estate group Vonovia (VNAn.DE) posted multi-billion euro losses and writedowns, and job growth for construction workers has stagnated.
The property sector makes up roughly a fifth of economic output and one in ten jobs, according to the German Property Federation.
The Ukraine war has also made German property seem riskier for foreign investors.
The president of the German Property Federation, Andreas Mattner, is pressing the government to temporarily suspend a property sales tax and is demanding a low-interest rate credit program to support new residential building.
Persons:
Kai Pfaffenbach, Sven Carstensen, Florian Schwalm, Olaf Scholz, Klara Geywitz, Andreas Mattner, Oliver Mueller, Matthias Inverardi, Holger Hansen, Friederike Heine Our
Organizations:
REUTERS, CARE, German Property Federation, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Central Bank, Germany, German Construction Industry Federation, Thomson
Locations:
Frankfurt, Germany, Germany's, Europe's, Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT, United States, Sweden, Ukraine, East, Asia