Several media outlets are reporting this week on the spring report of the Real Estate Experts 2026, which was presented on 10 February 2026. Ulrich Schüppler reports in detail in the Immobilien Zeitung on the assessments of Lars Feld, Professor of Economics and Director of the Walter Eucken Institute, who compiled the macroeconomic section of the report. On the one hand, real estate experts noted clear signs of an upturn, but on the other hand, Feld warned that if Germany’s competitiveness did not improve, real estate would also be affected. Residential construction had bottomed out, and expectations are steadily rising in other segments of the construction industry as well. However, the overall economic situation was not rosy. This has a lot to do with the situation in German industry, but much of it is also home-grown politics.
Feld sees the construction boom as a good approach for the real estate industry, provided it is implemented with determination. However, he believes that much more could be achieved in terms of regulatory relief if the government could agree internally on where it wants to go. In addition to streamlining state building regulations, Feld identifies the relaxation of existing rent protection as a major area of influence in order to stop the socially damaging divergence between new and existing rents. Another important point mentioned is a change in the real estate transfer tax. Here, Feld advocates a simple solution instead of creating exceptions for certain groups, which would make things complicated again. “The best thing would be to reduce the real estate transfer tax overall,” the expert advises.
In an article dated February 11, 2026, Thomas Daily points out that real estate experts are calling for “investment-friendly conditions” and urging a consistent approach to structural problems. Only then will a real turnaround be possible. Even in 2026, residential construction will still not be on the final path out of the ongoing crisis.
“The latest analyses by the authors of the report show that, now more than ever, the real estate industry is dependent on political action. Positive trends are undoubtedly visible on the markets, but they are still fragile. Further development depends to a large extent on whether the industry can expect tailwinds or headwinds from politicians,” says Jacopo Mingazzini, CEO of The Grounds. “Those who do not give the market a chance to recover and instead want to tinker with the symptoms through further regulatory intervention, rather than solving the significant structural problems in Germany, are pursuing a course that is highly risky for the entire country.”
