With some German property developers filing for insolvency, construction activity has dropped over a third from a year ago.
That bleak outlook was despite the government recently announcing a 45 billion euro ($47 billion) support package for the property sector and measures to encourage house building, including tax incentives.
With overall economic activity expected to remain weak over the coming quarters, it could take a while for the property sector to recover.
The euro zone's commercial property sector could also struggle for years, posing a threat to the banks and investors who financed it, the ECB said recently.
The median view of 12 property experts forecast average home rental prices to rise 4.0% or more until 2026.
Persons:
Lisi Niesner, Sebastian Schnejdar, Carsten Brzeski, Indradip Ghosh, Purujit Arun, Rahul Trivedi, Sarupya Ganguly, Ross Finley, David Evans
Organizations:
REUTERS, European Central Bank, ECB, ING, Thomson
Locations:
Berlin, Germany, BENGALURU