In August 2026, the construction of 20,600 apartments was approved in Germany, according to data released by the Federal Statistical Office, known as Destatis. This figure represents an increase of 6.8%, or 1,300 building permits, compared with August 2025. Within this total, approvals for apartments in newly constructed residential buildings rose by 4.2%, adding 700 units to reach a total of 16,500. Additionally, the number of approved apartments created through the conversion of existing buildings increased by 18.2% in August 2026 against the corresponding month of the prior year, climbing by 600 units to 4,200. Destatis notes that building permits frequently enter the statistics at a later date rather than in the reporting month of issuance due to subsequent reports submitted by local construction authorities.
Looking at the broader period from January to August 2026, German authorities issued building permits for a total of 169,400 apartments across both new and existing structures. This aggregate total represents an increase of 12.1%, or 18,300 apartments, compared to the volume recorded between January and August 2025. Specifically, within newly constructed residential buildings, 137,500 apartments were approved during the first eight months of the year, marking a 12.7% rise, or an additional 15,400 new apartments, relative to the same period in 2025.
Permit trends varied across specific categories of new residential buildings during the eight-month timeframe. Approvals for single-family houses advanced by 7.8% with an increase of 2,300 units, totaling 31,500. Two-family houses registered a more pronounced percentage increase, with authorized apartments growing by 21.7%, or 1,800 units, to reach 10,000. Multi-family houses, which constitute the largest building category numerically, saw construction authorities approve 90,600 new apartments during the period, representing a 14.5% expansion or 11,500 more units than the prior year's timeframe. Conversely, permits for apartments in residential homes dropped by 2.0% to 5,300 units, reflecting a reduction of 100 apartments.
In the non-residential building sector, permits were issued for 2,900 new apartments between January and August 2026, registering a 5.9% increase that added 200 units. This category includes caretaker dwellings located inside school buildings as well as apartments situated above commercial spaces in inner-city locations. Furthermore, modernization and conversion measures applied to existing residential and non-residential buildings accounted for 29,100 approved apartments during the first eight months of the year, marking a 10.1% increase, or 2,700 more units, compared with the equivalent period of 2025.
Destatis explains that these monthly figures rely on reports concerning granted building permits submitted by regional statistical offices in September. The results for the active reporting month encompass delayed notifications of permits issued in preceding periods, while reports that fail to arrive on schedule are incorporated into subsequent reporting cycles.
