Berlin remains a hotspot for housing shortages – the following figures illustrate this. The Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs, and Spatial Development (BBSR) estimates the annual demand for new housing in Berlin at around 23,000 apartments. At the same time, actual construction activity is significantly lower. In 2024, only 15,362 apartments were completed in Berlin. According to current figures, only 14,000 new apartments were built in 2025.
The political goals are ambitious: the Berlin Senate has set a target of up to 20,000 new apartments per year, including up to 5,000 social housing units.
At the federal level, the model is just as clear: 400,000 new apartments per year, 100,000 of which are publicly subsidized. However, reality is lagging behind: across Germany, around 251,900 apartments were completed in 2024, which is significantly below the target.
Affordable housing acts as a stabilizer—not for the entire market at once, but only on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis. Subsidy programs and the construction of new apartments in the lower and middle price segments create alternatives to high-priced new rentals, which can slow down price spirals locally.
For Berlin, subsidies of around €1.5 billion per year (2024/2025) are described. This should enable the creation of approximately 5,000 new affordable apartments per year. The first results are already visible in practice: in 2024, almost 5,100 subsidized apartments were approved. This is also seen politically as a sign that the pipeline for social housing is picking up again.
A tangible example is Altglienicke: in a larger neighborhood project, over 500 new apartments are being built there, about half of which are subsidized. The project also includes social infrastructure and green spaces. While such projects are not a panacea, they do increase supply precisely where demand is particularly high.
The debate about new construction is increasingly shifting to the outskirts – fueled by the planned “construction turbo” in the Building Code (§ 246e BauGB). The core idea: in tight markets, municipalities should be able to approve additional housing more quickly – in some cases with significantly shortened review and planning processes. The federal government argues that this will significantly accelerate housing construction.
However, there is criticism from several quarters: Tenants’ associations warn that the high pace does not guarantee affordability and may encourage circumvention effects. The Federal Chamber of Architects sees risks for orderly urban development and the creation of false incentives, for example if peripheral locations are given preference.
The bottom line is that it is a matter of weighing up the pros and cons: there is an opportunity for improvement if infrastructure (public transport, schools, daycare centers) and sustainable neighborhood planning are taken into account. However, there is also a risk that rapid land consumption will create new problems.
Anyone looking to buy in Berlin should pay particular attention to:
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