The corona crisis turned the world upside down within a few days. The economic situation has suddenly come to an imbalance. This is also felt by the housebuilders and the building owners in many countries. For example, Sydney concrete contractors recently canceled many contracts to help constrain the spread of the virus.
For everyone who is currently building a house or has planned to do so in the near future, uncertainty may arise: How much longer will construction continue? What do I do if I have problems with my construction site? Can I move to my new house during the corona epidemic? And can I get advice from the company of my choice on buying a house or financing? As the largest house building portal, we keep an eye on the market and the situation – and answer building owners and those who would like to become one of the most important questions about the Corona crisis.
How the coronavirus is impacting the housing market
THE CURRENT SITUATION IN GENERAL: UNCERTAINTY, INITIAL BOTTLENECKS, CONSTRUCTION DELAYS – BUT BUSINESS CONTINUES
Both construction companies and consumer associations are currently reporting the first bottlenecks in construction. On the one hand, there is a staff who are either directly affected by illness, quarantine, or (un) voluntary shutdown of business operations. If foreign skilled workers are deployed on the construction sites – and there are around 100,000 of them – numerous companies are additionally restricted by the current entry ban.
There are also initial problems with the materials, although the movement of goods and goods continues to run with a high priority with the exception of one or the other border. Material bottlenecks are due to the fact that global production is stalling, especially in regions badly affected by the virus – currently for example in Austria, Spain, and Italy. “Private builders, therefore, have to be prepared for a construction delay. Most construction projects are currently ongoing, but the situation is changing every day, ”reports Florian Becker, managing director of the Bauherren-Schutzbund eV (BSB).
The house construction industry is also affected by the current restrictions and has reduced personal contact to an absolute minimum to protect employees and customers.
On the one hand, this applies to the model house parks: For example, the Federal Association of German Prefabricated Construction (BDF) has closed its prefabricated house worlds in Günzburg (near Ulm), Hanover, Cologne, Nuremberg, and Wuppertal until “further notice”. “This happens out of responsibility towards our customers and our employees and is an exclusively precautionary measure,” says Hans Volker Noller, President of the BDF. Germany’s largest model house exhibition in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt was temporarily closed, as were many other regional exhibitions.
An industry that is hit particularly hard and even existentially by Corona is the trade fair industry. Almost all trade fairs related to house construction have been canceled or postponed. Most of the sampling centers and equipment consultancies of the house building companies are now closed. However, some providers still receive visitors in accordance with the strict legal requirements, i.e. with a minimum distance and, for example, a maximum number of visitors of two people.