STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - According to industry figures, private building societies concluded contracts with a volume of more than 38 billion euros from January to June. This is an increase of more than 10 percent compared to the first half of 2022, as the Association of Private Building Societies announced on Friday. After the boom last year, demand for home savings contracts remains high. "In 2023, home savings will continue to be fully in line with the trend," Bernd Hertweck, chairman of the association's board of directors, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Hertweck is also CEO of Wüstenrot Bausparkasse, based in Kornwestheim, Swabia. Apart from the increased construction interest rates, he believes the development is also driven by the discussion about the heat turnaround and the heating law. "Anyone who has residential property does not know today exactly what is in store for him. But he knows that he is well advised to make financial provisions," he said.

The building savings contract becomes an energy savings contract - for investments in savings measures that are due in the near or distant future. Politicians would be well advised to support this desire to save and to strengthen the ability of people in Germany to save, he said.

The Landesbausparkassen (LBS) did not yet have half-year figures available. In the first months of this year, however, they continued to register a positive development in new business, said a spokeswoman. The Landesbausparkassen account for around one-third of the German market, with the remainder shared by private institutions.

New business in home savings had already picked up significantly last year. The main reason for this was the rise in construction interest rates. In 2022, the private building societies had recorded a 47 percent increase in the volume of new home savings contracts. The number of new contracts rose by 15 percent. The state building societies had also significantly increased the amount of home savings and the number of units./jwe/DP/zb