Construction industry more confident again at the start of the year

After difficult years, the mood in the eastern German construction industry has recently brightened somewhat. Construction activity is more stable than in previous years, albeit still at a low level, according to the Eastern German Construction Industry Association. According to the figures available to date, both incoming orders and turnover have developed positively from January to October 2025. However, there are serious differences between the individual construction sectors.

Large-scale relocations are driving commercial construction

"We are currently experiencing a construction boom driven by large-scale projects," said the association's Managing Director, Robert Momberg. Commercial construction, with projects such as the expansion of the Tesla factory in Brandenburg and the establishment of the chip industry in Dresden, is the driving force. In contrast, residential construction and public construction continued to perform weakly.

In residential construction, a "poison cocktail" of increased financing costs, high construction prices and regulatory requirements is still having an effect. However, the first signs of recovery are in sight for this long-standing problem child. These include an increase in demand for construction loans, said Momberg. "It could be that we have slowly bottomed out," said the Managing Director.

In contrast, the public sector is almost leaving the construction industry hanging. "Our member companies, especially in Saxony, have been complaining for a long time that there are too few tenders for road construction, that nothing reaches the market," said Momberg. The companies have not yet noticed anything about the billion-euro special fund for infrastructure.

Criticism of the distribution of the special fund

"We have two major problems with the special fund. The criterion of additionality is far from being met. Economists have calculated that at most 50 percent of the sum is really on top. And even if it is additional, it doesn't mean that it will go towards infrastructure or climate neutrality," said Momberg.

For example, an algae research center is to be funded in Saxony-Anhalt and a queer archive center in Berlin. These things are not bad per se, but it depends on the message. It had been announced that the money was earmarked for infrastructure. "That's just not the case," criticized Momberg.

Predominantly positive economic outlook for 2026

However, the construction industry association does not want to paint a bleak picture. "In the end, of course, something will also come out for the construction industry. Our flash survey of member companies also shows that expectations are not all bad," said Momberg.

In this survey from November, almost 75 percent of the companies surveyed rated their earnings situation in 2025 as medium to good. For the new year, 35.5 percent expected turnover to increase and 32.3 percent expected it to at least remain constant. Around 80% of companies expect to be able to maintain or even increase their workforce.

The Construction Industry Association East represents the interests of companies in Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.