Scarcity also in the countryside Sought-after building land

Status: 10.06.2021 10:24 a.m.

For a long time, rural regions were considered the ideal place to realize the dream of an affordable home. In the meantime, not only have the construction costs increased. Finding a plot of land is often difficult. From Iris Völlnagel, SWR Sometimes Dirk Gaul-Roßkopf would like to be able to do magic. The mayor of Planig in Rhineland-Palatinate receives at least three inquiries per week, mainly from young families. You are looking for an apartment or a building plot. Many of them come from or live nearby. There are now around 100 inquiries piling up on the mayor’s desk. He would like to offer the families a home in the district of Bad Kreuznach, which has almost 3,000 inhabitants. From his point of view, the place has a lot to offer: many associations, two daycare centers, one elementary school. A train stop is to come in 2027 and the cities of Mainz and Wiesbaden can be reached in less than 40 minutes via the motorway. “That is why it is very important that the young people can stay here and that others settle down.”

Lack of living space – a nationwide problem

Only what to do when there is neither affordable housing nor building space? A problem that now exists all over Germany, especially in the larger cities and metropolitan areas. Many apartments in Germany are considered overcrowded. This means that an apartment has too few rooms in relation to the number of people. According to a survey by the Federal Statistical Office, this applied to 6.4 million people in 2019.

Every week the mayor Gaul-Roßkopf receives several inquiries from interested parties for building plots. Image: Iris Völlnagel In 2018, the federal government decided made their residential summit to have 1.5 million new apartments built in the current legislative period. That would have been around 375,000 per year. According to the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office, a good 306,000 apartments were completed in 2020, around 293,000 in 2019 and around 287,000 in 2018.

Sought-after building land

But it’s not just about apartments, but also about the space to build. In the center of Planig there are ten building plots that would be ideal as building sites. “Ideal building plots, that would give at least three to four homes,” says Gaul-Roßkopf as he walks through the town. He has spoken to the owners several times, but they neither want to sell nor build on it. This is also a problem in many cities. The federal government tried to counter this with the building land modernization law. It is intended to strengthen the municipalities’ right of first refusal. For example, the law stipulated that in areas with tense housing markets, municipalities would be given more time and opportunities to purchase land or buildings for sale themselves in order to then build new apartments. Sounds good, but is of no use in practice, says Gaul-Roßkopf. “Where should a municipality like us, which is struggling with a budget freeze, still spend money on building land?”

Mayor Gaul-Roßkopf has high hopes for an ongoing construction project in Planig. Image: Iris Völlnagel

Future in plan

The mayor Gaul-Roßkopf is therefore placing a lot of hope in a new construction project. At the entrance to the community, several blocks with two-story single-family houses are being built on 4800 square meters. Most of the objects have already been sold, costs: from 300,000 euros. In addition, the community on the outskirts is in the process of developing a new development area. “The further we go outside, the more expensive it gets. Because wherever roads and everything have to be made, the price of land will also go up,” said the mayor. Compared to some big cities, the prices in Planig may still be cheap. But the dream of a cheap country apartment is quickly over.