The construction crisis leads to a sharp decrease in real estate transfer tax income.Because "many families are unable to buy a house because of the lack of down payment funds", experts now call for the suspension of the tax.
The current real estate price in Germany has fallen, but the increase in financing costs.Eventually, the governments taxation from real estate transfer transactions dropped sharply.In the first half of 2023, the taxation tax income of tax authorities decreased by 33.5%compared with the same period last year.Federal states have created a total of 6.3 billion euros in revenue through real estate transfer taxes.This is the lowest level since the second half of 2016.
Many reasons are intertwined
There are many reasons for the decline in real estate transaction volume.Increasing construction loan interest rates are one of them.Building loan interest rose sharply from January 2022.From September 2022 to November 2023, interest rates exceeded 3%.The sharp rise in building interest rates is caused by the European Central Banks fight against inflation.As soon as the interest rate cut comes, the real estate market has gradually digested this benefit.Earlier this year, the best interest rate for ten -year construction financing dropped to about 2.9%.
The Federal Bureau of Statistics also believes that the increase in financing costs has caused a downturn in buying a house.In the first half of 2023, the average purchase price of construction land for construction was 122.13 euros per square meter, and the same period last year was 141.58 euros.The total price of the transaction is about 4 billion euros; and the number of this number in the first half of 2022 exceeds double the amount.
Michael Voigtländer, a real estate economist at the Cologne Economic Research Institute in Germany, believes that the collapse of real estate transactions is more serious than the rise in interest rates.He said, "In many large cities, the number of transactions has fallen by 50%. The current transaction activities are still very limited, but the price may rise slightly.>
Another important factor in the decline in real estate transaction tax income is the decline in the purchase price of apartments and houses.The house price index in the first six months of 2023 decreased by 8.2%compared with the previous year.Destatis said that this trend will continue.The housing price index in the third quarter of 2023 recorded a record decline of 10.2%.
Real estate prices are essential for real estate transactions.The basis for the collection of real estate transfer tax is notarized house prices.With the decline in real estate prices, the revenue of the federal states has also declined.
The per capita real estate transaction tax of Berlin and Burger is the highest.Aside from city states, the per capita real estate tax of Brandonburg is the highest among the federal states, with 103.38 euros.However, less than half of Saxony and Turinen.Percelias per capita real estate tax is 56.42 euros, which is lower than the national average (74.56 euros).
The tax rate of real estate transfer in various places also plays a certain role in taxation.Federal states can determine the level of tax rates by themselves.Bavarias real estate transfer tax rate last year was 3.5%of the purchase price, while Brandonburg, North Veylia, Salle and Shihe were as high as 6.5%.
Disputes of suspension of real estate transfer tax
Real estate transfer (transaction) tax has been full of controversy over the years.The Federal Finance Minister Lindner said: "If you follow me, the transfer tax of real estate in the federal states should be reduced to zero." But except Turinen, all other federal politics have maintained the previous tax rate.Eastern Germany only reduced the tax rate from the previous 6.5%to 5%at the beginning of the year.
Michael Voigtländer, a real estate economist at the Cologne Economic Research Institute in Germany, believes that "reducing real estate transfer tax is especially important for private families who want to buy a house.. Even if many families can pay through installments, it is possible that it is difficult to achieve their desires because of the lack of down payment. One of the reasons is that a large number of savings have been used to pay real estate transfer taxes. "Tax reduction can stabilize the market, making buying house possible, and some part of them are also partially partialReduce self -funded funds.
Recently, the Central Real Estate Commission (ZIA) pointed out in its spring report that by 2026, the number of new apartments will be reduced to 150,000 units per year.This number is far lower than the new target of 400,000 new apartments per year.The current priority is to first solve the housing crisis.They call on the federal states to "temporarily" exempt real estate transfer taxes.In this way, buyers and builders can save a lot of costs.
Voigtländer also proposes another possible solution: secondary loan, that is, loans to replace down payment funds.At present, the support of the family is not enough. Only the three -person family income must be less than 90,000 euros to get a low -interest loan, and it must also buy a special energy -saving house.
The Minister of Finance Lindner continues to insist on tax cuts, but the Minister of Construction Klar Geywitz believes that the states large investment in highways and railways has improved construction order.Adhere to its ambitious building goals of 400,000 new apartments.
