BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The German Tenants' Association and the construction union IG BAU have warned of drastic distortions in the German housing market. "The alarm bells of the housing shortage have not rung as loudly as they are now for a long time: the situation on the housing market is becoming increasingly dramatic," Tenants' Association President Lukas Siebenkotten told the newspapers of the "Funke Mediengruppe" (Thursday). "Especially in the supply of subsidized affordable housing, we will experience a sharp slump." The federal and state governments would have to turn the tide now. "Or we will experience an unimagined disaster in the housing market," Siebenkotten continued.

Strong immigration, especially of war refugees from Ukraine, has recently put pressure on the real estate market in Germany, where housing is already in short supply. In addition, housing construction is faltering because many people can no longer afford to build in view of rising interest rates and expensive materials. Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz has already conceded that the traffic light coalition will miss its target of 400,000 new homes a year.

Harald Schaum, deputy federal chairman of IG BAU, spoke of a conflict regarding the federal government's skilled labor strategy in light of the housing shortage. "Housing and work - they belong together. No one will come if they cannot live here or can only do so at horrendously high rents," Schaum told the Funke newspapers. "There is a huge dilemma: Housing is a very essential key to the employment situation and thus to the functioning of the economy in Germany."

The Tenants' Association, IG Bau and the Caritas welfare organization plan to provide information on the topic at a press conference in Berlin this Thursday (10:30 a.m.)./als/DP/mis