WIESBADEN (dpa-AFX) - In the midst of the home office trend and the construction crisis, the number of new office buildings constructed in Germany has collapsed. In 2022, 1563 office properties were completed, according to the Federal Statistical Office on Thursday. This was 13.6 percent fewer office and administrative buildings than in the pre-corona year 2019 and 46 percent fewer than in 2002 (2897). "Fewer office buildings have only been completed in 2010 (1533) since the start of the time series in 1993." At the same time, a good 43 percent less new office space was added in 2022 than 20 years previously, it said.

The decline in the construction of new office buildings continued according to preliminary results from the statisticians on building permits. Accordingly, the construction of 1665 office and administrative buildings was approved last year - 16.6 percent less than in 2022.

As working from home has become firmly established in the world of work as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there are masses of empty offices in Germany. Companies are shedding space and investors are reluctant to buy office buildings - the prices for such properties have plummeted. At the same time, higher interest rates and more expensive materials are dampening new construction, even if the rise in construction prices slowed in 2023.

The commercial real estate crisis is already weighing on banks' balance sheets, especially in the USA, where the problem has affected many cities. In Germany, the turbulence is causing problems for real estate financiers such as Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Aareal Bank.

Retail properties also in crisis

According to the statisticians, there was an even sharper decline than in the construction of new office properties in retail buildings, where the trend towards online shopping is having an impact in addition to higher construction costs. The number of completions there fell by a good quarter compared to the pre-corona level and reached an all-time low: 887 new retail buildings were built in 2022, compared to 1196 in 2019. Retail space also fell during this period - by almost 33 percent to 1.47 million square meters./als/DP/zb