Immotalk in Bad Homburg

This week, I was in Bad Homburg, a spa town just outside Frankfurt in the picturesque Taunus region. Thomas Reimann, President of the Association of Construction Entrepreneurs in Hesse, and his son Jan-Niklas Reimann (ALEA Hoch- und Industriebau AG) hosted his "Immotalk" series of events in cooperation with Taunus Sparkasse.

I am always amazed that housing shortages, rising rents, and a lack of new buildings play a minor role in the political and media debate. Although millions of people are affected, little attention is given to the explosive social impact. That's why I think events like "Immotalk" are important. They give the sector a voice and the hearing it needs. The Hessian Construction President Thomas Reimann was supported this evening by Felix Pakleppa as Managing Director of the Central Association of the German Construction Industry and by Prof. Dr. Roman Poseck (CDU) as Hessian Minister of the Interior, among others.

The challenges are not new, but the pressure on the new federal government to act has never been more significant. Too many regulations, changing funding conditions, and a lack of planning security are burdening the construction industry. The event, therefore, focused on concrete recommendations for action to find ways out of the construction crisis.

Instead of 16 state building regulations, we need one uniform regulation. Approvals must be granted more quickly, procedures streamlined, and excessively high requirements scaled back. Continue the discussion about building type E. Reduction in land transfer tax. Measures already initiated, such as declining balance depreciation and special depreciation, should be consistently continued. Climate-related building policy must focus on existing buildings to achieve climate protection targets.

There are enough ideas. Politicians must set the right course.

Thanks to Thomas Reimann for the insightful evening in the historic ambiance of the freight depot.

Ronny Kazyska

Ronny Kazyska with Thomas Reimann & Jan-Niklas Reimann (ALEA Hoch- und Industriebau AG)

Ronny Kazyska & Felix Pakleppa (Zentralverband des Deutschen Baugewerbes)