GLOPRAGlobal Property Radar

Germany new residential construction prices up 5.5% in August 2026

Building a new home in Germany cost 5.5% more in August 2026 than a year earlier, up from an annual rate of 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The facts

  • Prices for the construction of new conventionally built residential buildings in Germany were +5.5% higher in August 2026 than in August 2025, according to the Federal Statistical Office release of 9 October 2026.
  • In the previous observation month, May 2026, the annual increase had been 5.0%. Between May and August 2026 prices rose a further 1.0%.
  • The office records that both finishing and structural work became markedly more expensive, with finishing work up 5.7% and structural work up 5.4%.
  • Among individual trades, roofing rose 7.6%, carpentry and timber work 7.2%, electrical, security and information systems 7.2%, earthworks 6.1%, concrete work 4.3% and masonry 4.2%. The office notes that concrete and masonry carry the largest shares of structural work.
  • Maintenance of residential buildings, excluding cosmetic repairs, cost 6.0% more over the year. New office buildings rose 5.7% and commercial and industrial buildings 5.5%. Road construction prices rose 6.9%.
  • The annual rate ran at 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 3.3% in the first quarter of 2026 before stepping up to 5.0% in the second quarter and 5.5% in the third.
  • All price figures refer to construction work on the building and include value added tax. The release gives no index level, only rates of change.

What it means for your money

  • A new build costs 5.5% more than a year ago, but this prices building work, not finished homes, so the entry-price effect is indirect.
  • For anyone already holding German property, maintenance work on residential buildings is 6.0% dearer over the year, which lands on service charges and reserve funds rather than on the purchase price.
  • Dearer construction raises the cost of adding new supply, and the acceleration from 3.2% to 5.5% across three quarters is the part a developer's budget feels first.
  • The figures include value added tax, so the quoted increases are close to what a private client actually pays rather than a net trade price.

What to watch

  • The survey observes February, May, August and November, so the next observation month is November 2026.
  • Whether finishing work keeps outpacing structural work. The gap was 5.7% against 5.4% in August.
  • The office's short-term indicator table that carries this quarterly series states it will no longer be updated from calendar week 43 of 2026, so the series will have to be followed elsewhere.

Sources: Destatis https://destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2026/10/PD26_360_61261.html; Destatis https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Economy/Short-Term-Indicators/Prices/bpr110j.html

Market data: Germany