The situation is serious

Slump in construction: the industry is going downhill!

Housing construction in the vast country has come to a standstill - which is dampening the entire economy.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

Lower Austria is traditionally regarded as the land of house builders. But at the moment the cranes are mostly standing still. This is because the domestic construction industry is not getting off the ground. Experts see the industry in a downward spiral.

Corona was thought to have been overcome long ago and inflation already seemed to have leveled off - time to switch from crisis mode to catch-up mode. However, this does not seem to be working in the construction industry. "Even after the second quarter of this year, it has to be said that the construction industry is still in a downward spiral," says Wolfgang Ecker, President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, drawing a bitter half-year conclusion.

The housing and construction package announced by the federal government is not yet taking effect. This must change quickly!

Wolfgang Ecker, Präsident der Wirtschaftskammer NÖ 

Bild: Rita Newman

Seriousness of the situation
This trend has serious consequences, economists emphasize: "The construction industry is an important economic engine for Lower Austria's economy. And it has started to stutter." One benchmark is building permits. Across Austria, their number fell to 60 percent of the long-term average last year. "In Lower Austria, it even fell to just 38 percent," says Ecker, analyzing the seriousness of the situation. Another alarm signal: While overall unemployment in Lower Austria increased by 10.5 percent in June, it rose by more than 20 percent in the construction industry.

If Black/Blue are already selling off the money of Lower Austrian house builders at a ridiculous price, then they should at least put the proceeds into non-profit housing construction instead of into the ailing state budget.

Christian Samwald, Wohnbausprecher der SPÖ im Landtag

Bild: SPÖ NÖ

High waves despite the slump
The slump in construction is causing waves to rise in politics. For the SPÖ, housing spokesperson Christian Samwald and party leader Sven Hergovich criticize the "selling off of housing loans" and call for "massive investment in this area". And, as reported, Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner is putting the rod in the window of the future head of the Financial Market Authority - it is time to abolish the so-called KIM regulation without replacement. This is responsible for disproportionately high hurdles for loans: "This deprives many people of the chance to own an affordable home!"