Overview of Party Positions on Real Estate in Germany – Federal Election 2025
The 2025 federal election in Germany faces significant challenges in areas such as housing construction, rent regulation, climate policy, and homeownership promotion. The positions of the parties vary widely, ranging from extensive state intervention to market-based solutions. Below is a detailed summary of the party positions, followed by a final comparison based on key categories.
Party Positions in Detail
SPD (Social Democratic Party)
The party supports strict government regulation of the housing market, with a strong emphasis on tenant protection, social housing, and climate-friendly construction. The party aims to extend and tighten rent controls to limit rent increases in high-demand areas. To increase affordable housing, the SPD proposes significant state investments in social housing and new construction incentives. Climate protection measures should be promoted through subsidies for energy-efficient renovations and municipal heat planning. To make homeownership more accessible, the SPD suggests reducing the real estate transfer tax for first-time buyers and providing more support for cooperative housing models.
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (The Greens)
The Greens pursue an ambitious climate agenda that has significant implications for the housing sector. They propose a mix of state subsidies and mandatory measures to encourage energy-efficient renovations. Their heating transition (Wärmewende) aims to expand district heating networks and phase out fossil-fuel-based heating systems. In terms of tenant protection, the Greens advocate for permanent rent caps, stricter regulations on index-linked rents, and greater restrictions on evictions for a landlord's personal use (Eigenbedarfskündigungen). The party also supports a new non-profit housing model, ensuring long-term affordable rental options. Unlike other parties, the Greens do not prioritize individual homeownership but instead focus on strengthening community-oriented housing solutions.
CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union)
The party promotes a market-driven approach aimed at boosting private investment through tax incentives, deregulation, and reducing bureaucratic hurdles. Rent controls should be gradually phased out rather than expanded. Instead of direct state investments in social housing, the CDU/CSU proposes tax incentives and depreciation benefits for private investors to encourage more housing construction. In climate policy, they favor market-based mechanisms, such as CO₂ emissions trading, over government-imposed bans. Additionally, the party seeks to simplify building regulations and accelerate approval procedures. A key focus is homeownership, with plans to reduce the real estate transfer tax for first-time buyers and provide state-backed mortgage subsidies.
FDP (Liberal Democratic Party)
The Liberals follow a strongly market-liberal strategy, prioritizing deregulation, tax cuts, and bureaucracy reduction to encourage new housing construction. The party rejects rent controls entirely, arguing that they discourage investment. Instead, it proposes tax incentives and faster approval processes to increase housing supply. In climate policy, the FDP promotes technology-neutral solutions, opposing government bans on fossil fuel heating and mandatory renovation requirements. Market-based CO₂ pricing should replace state intervention. Homeownership is a priority, with plans to eliminate the real estate transfer tax for first-time buyers and reduce transaction costs for property purchases.
Die Linke (Left Party)
The Left Party proposes radical state intervention in the housing market. It calls for a nationwide rent cap, strict limits on rent increases, and a large-scale transfer of housing into public ownership. The party supports expropriating large real estate companies and implementing a non-profit housing model. It also advocates for massive public investment in social housing and permanent rent price controls. In climate policy, the Left Party seeks state-funded renovations and mandatory landlord contributions to energy efficiency upgrades. Homeownership is not a priority, as the party focuses on expanding cooperative and municipal housing models instead.
AfD (Alternative for Germany)
The AfD follows a fully market-driven approach, rejecting any state intervention in the housing market. It demands the abolition of rent caps, the elimination of all social housing programs, and full deregulation of the construction and real estate sector. The party also rejects all government-imposed climate measures, including CO₂ pricing and mandatory energy-efficient renovations, advocating instead for lower energy prices through expanded fossil fuel use. Homeownership is a key focus, with the party pushing for tax reductions and fewer regulations to make property purchases easier.
Comparison of Party Positions by Key Categories
Summary
The parties have diverging approaches to real estate policy. The SPD, Greens, and Left Party favor strong government intervention, social housing programs, and extensive tenant protections. The CDU/CSU and FDP promote market incentives, deregulation, and tax relief to encourage investment. The AfD rejects any form of regulation, advocating for full market liberalization.
An optimal housing policy would combine both market-driven and state-supported measures, including targeted social housing programs complemented by private investment incentives (SPD, CDU/CSU, FDP), deregulation of construction regulations and bureaucracy reduction to speed up new developments (CDU/CSU, FDP), technology-neutral climate policies with financial incentives instead of bans (CDU/CSU, FDP, SPD), and support for first-time homebuyers to promote wealth creation (CDU/CSU, FDP, SPD).
Appendix
Development of Polls Since the Last Federal Election
Development of Polls Since July 2024
Disclaimer
This overview is for information purposes only. Periskop Partners (a trademark of DLE Group AG) does not make any recommendations for the election of specific political parties and refrains from any evaluation of election programs. This overview was compiled from publicly available sources and provides an overview of the facts presented therein. The summary of the topics presented in this overview does not claim to be complete. It reflects the status as of the date of its preparation. Periskop Partners assumes no liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained therein. It should be noted that the positions of the political parties presented in the overview can change at any time. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that any or all of the points will be implemented in the event that the relevant political parties assume governmental responsibility.