Wann springt die Baukonjunktur wieder an? - Uwe Eichner und Andreas Engelhardt

Yes, it's still true, unfortunately. Germany is in a relatively strong uncertainty environment. This has to do with the general situation, but especially with high interest rates, high uncertainty regarding legal regulations, subsidies for certain topics, and of course also with raw material price increases we had a few months ago. This has simply led to consumers and investors, whether private or commercial, being uncertain, and the whole thing no longer pays off. Now the concerted action is that we must sweep in front of our own door as companies, and of course politics must also ensure a certain security and reliability that we don't have today. We will discuss both.

Yes, absolutely. I can only agree with what you said. It is very complex, but not so complex that it can't be solved. You just have to tackle the issues together and identify who is responsible for what. As a company, we are responsible for delivering the right products at the right price. We are also responsible for providing concepts for decarbonizing the construction industry. We have had this in our DNA for many years. We are happy that with the building envelope—we close all the holes, to put it somewhat bluntly—we can contribute to achieving our climate goals. That's a nice thing. Now we have to ensure that, for example, the requirements of the European Green Deal and other things are also met. Investors also ask clearly: when they get bank funds, they have to build or renovate a sustainable building. So there is pressure that simply has to be met. That's our task. The other task is reliability and security. There we really have a flank wide open. Of course, one must also look at the overall calculation again. In Germany—I know, we are active worldwide—in Europe, nowhere is it as bad in the construction industry as in Germany. Italy, France, Spain—everything is running better there. The governments are also making their own initiatives, but above all, people can rely on what burdens exist. One figure: 37% of new construction costs are due to state or approval requirements. We have also had higher construction interest rates before, but back then the state share for new construction was significantly lower. When it was at 20 or 22%, you could also bear 5% interest. Today we have both: we have 3-4% interest. I believe we need to have a two before the decimal point, say just under 3%, then it becomes worthwhile again for private and commercial investors. And it has worked: three, two years ago we had 14 billion in KfW funds, subsidies for loans to innovate and build. Today we have one billion. It's clear that doesn't work. So we appeal again for the concerted action we called for years ago.

I would like to add something to that, because in Germany it's especially critical. When people in Germany become uncertain, they first do nothing at all. Then they wait, freeze everything, partly with their hard-saved money. They say: Should I renovate my windows now, or should I install a heat pump for the 30,000 euros I saved, which probably costs 60,000? This uncertainty, brought into the country by this very, very bad Building Energy Act (GEG)—one unfortunately has to say that—we still feel today. It's simply stagnation, and that doesn't help the climate goals at all. One must also say that: it's actually perverse that the actual goal was turned into the exact opposite. But the worst thing is this uncertainty, not knowing what will happen.

What you just said is absolutely essential: that the alarm mood in the political sphere, that apartments are simply missing, is not seen. This is social dynamite. We will unfortunately experience this in the upcoming elections. That is not good for this democracy, and it's also not good for the trust to give capital to this economy. Foreign investors are giving Germany a wide berth and asking: what is going on with you with the AfD? Can we actually still rely on you regarding the democratic structure? By the way, that's not my quote, but a quote from the head of Deutsche Bank, Mr. Sewing. The state cannot do that alone. Private sector, private money must flow again, but for that we need the right framework conditions. Reliability must be created. The state must also subsidize when interest rates are so high. We simply need KfW funds. That has always worked in Germany; it gives a boost to measures and new construction. We must achieve this state. We can do it relatively quickly; the construction industry is able to serve it. That also shows: 80 seconds, everyone is ready. Our homework is internal networking—the state doesn't have to do that, that's our job, the right products. But now the state is called upon, and the government is called upon.

Yes, I believe it is much more than just throwing the ball somewhere and saying you have to do this. It is a communal task, and I also think it's a democracy task. We entrepreneurs and politicians must know that if we don't solve the housing problem—along with two or three other topics, orderly migration is also a topic but doesn't play a role here today—if this is not solved communally, then we have a problem. The shortage of skilled workers also has to do with that; it's something that concerns us. You just said uncertainty leads to declines in the construction industry, and then people leave who are no longer available to the construction industry as skilled workers. If we don't get this turn, then 80 seconds must also make it clear that this only works together, and that everyone should play their role at the best same time. That is currently going wrong in Germany.

I would like to make a suggestion. When we in companies are unsure about certain things and say we don't know how it will work on a large scale, then there is trial and error: try and learn from mistakes. Small circles, small opportunities where you say let's try it out in one area. Why is it not possible? We are currently taking the initiative in East Westphalia, where we are based, with local municipalities, with other companies in the construction industry. We have companies that are friends with us that are participating, the local political community, mayors, building officers, the state building minister, and perhaps also the federal building minister. And we say: let's try it out in a specific area—how quickly permits can be granted, how quickly we can test debureaucratization with this example. If it works, and I'm sure it will work better than what we have today, then we can copy it elsewhere. Trial and error, best practice, quite simply. We need to say yes, it works. It doesn't fail because of willingness; there are enough employees in construction companies today, enough ideas that could be implemented. We just have to want to, and dare to try it out on a brownfield site, truly say: we set aside a plot and try it out and show how it's done. And of course we do that because we know it works, and it also leads to others asking why they don't do it that way. That is the background of the thought. In summary, for politics: clearly, please no hasty action at the national level trying things out, but security, constancy, building on what has proven itself in the past, but at the same time being open to experiments at the municipal level and, if successful, rolling them out nationally. I guarantee you that will be better than what we have today. I have no doubt about it. You just have to do it. That's why we are here today.

Our task is to provide customers like you, and others, with systems that are simply cheaper in serial construction or serial renovation because they are standardized. More of that must happen; we are working on it at full speed. We need more innovation, and we are heavily engaged in bringing low-carbon and ultra-low-carbon, reusable materials into circulation. Current and future buildings are the raw material depot of the future. We have no more resources, so we must be able to dismantle everything again. For that, we need innovations to identify materials, to label them so that in 70 years they can be assigned again and fed back into the cycle from a window to a window. That is our task, to ensure that we are already at the point where we can give our customers a promise today that we will take back what they install or have installed, and, let's say, sort it finely with knife and fork and return it to the cycle. The whole digital topic naturally also plays a role in this context. You have to invest a lot of money, and we do that, so that the materials find their way back and come to the right place, and everything is also honest. Yes, we place great value on ensuring that what we do fits one hundred percent.

Yes, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.