Germany building permit index, office buildings, unadjusted
Germany building permit index, office buildings, unadjusted stood at 95.5 in Q2 2026, according to Deutsche Bundesbank. It is one of the indicators in the Property market (quarterly) table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q1 2010 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Property market (quarterly) table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Economic Indicators | |||||||||||
| Building permit index - floor space, total (including construction work on existing buildings) - non-residential buildings (including office and administrative buildings), unadjusted figures | 95.5 | 133 | 125.5 | 107 | 115.1 | 130.3 | 118.7 | 128.4 | 122.8 | 190.4 | |
| Building permit index - floor space, total (including construction work on existing buildings) - non-residential buildings (including wholesale and retail buildings and warehouses), unadjusted figures | 63.4 | 85.2 | 76.1 | 98.8 | 84 | 103.1 | 85.9 | 90.6 | 108.8 | 103.5 |
Understanding germany building permit index, office buildings, unadjusted
Focusing entirely on the administrative clearance of corporate and bureaucratic workspaces, this indicator measures the pipeline of future office supply. It strips away retail, warehouse, and industrial authorizations to target exclusively the floor space approved for office and administrative buildings. Crucially, the aggregate includes both brand-new structures and major structural extensions to existing office assets. By tracking the exact moment local authorities grant legal permission to build, the series acts as a forward-looking gauge of developer intentions specifically within the white-collar employment sector.
Delivered in its raw, unadjusted format against a 2010 base year, the data requires rigorous contextual analysis. Because corporate headquarters and large administrative complexes are massive physical undertakings, a single municipal approval for a flagship tower can heavily distort the quarterly index. This inherent statistical lumpiness means quarter-on-quarter movements reflect administrative processing quirks rather than genuine shifts in the business cycle. Year-on-year analysis is mandatory to filter out these concentrated municipal approvals. Additionally, preliminary readings are occasionally revised if developers let permits expire without breaking ground, a phenomenon that occurs when macroeconomic conditions change between planning and execution.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this include interior renovations of existing offices?
- Standard interior fit-outs are excluded; the permit must involve the creation of new physical floor space or significant structural modifications.
- Are government administrative buildings captured here?
- Public sector administrative facilities and civic offices are combined with private sector corporate workspaces under this specific classification.
- How long is the lag between a permit approval and a completed building?
- The lag typically spans several years, meaning this index signals future supply additions long before they become available for tenants to lease.